The whole package
by ProFfeSseR
Summary: The whole package, but what is it really and how do you get it, and when do you get it? Sequel to 'It doesn't make any sense'. Complete!
1. Lost time

_A/N: Finally the first chapter of the sequel! This story starts 10 weeks after where it doesn't make any sense ended. The subject stays about the same. It's about Luke and Lorelai and their family. Therefore called 'The whole package.' __Thanks to all of you who reviewed the epilogue and every other chapter of it doesn't make any sense. I hope you will love this story as much as you did that one! And thanks to LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict for proofreading._

**Chapter 1 Lost time**

Lorelai walked into the diner after a long day at the Inn. Sookie had called in sick that morning so she had to find a replacement. Manny was on vacation and Luke couldn't leave the diner because he had the same problem. Lane had a gig in San Francisco and was gone for a week and Caesar called in sick as well. He needed Jake to keep the place running so it was impossible to leave. It took her 3 hours to find someone to replace Sookie. If that wasn't enough already, Michel kept bugging her all day and Lucan was fuzzy because he was teething. She had a lot of paperwork waiting for her, but couldn't get to doing it. Since it had to get out before 9 the following morning, she had just enough time to grab some dinner and drop Lucan off before going back to get the paperwork done.

"Luke." She called when the bell jingled above her head.

"Take a seat I'll be with you soon." He said as he walked past her with a few plates in his hands.

Lorelai walked to the counter and sat down, the stroller next to her.

"Hey." Luke said, leaning in over the counter to kiss her almost 5 minutes later.

"Hey." She replied tiredly.

"Long day?"

"Yep, and it's not over yet."

"How come?" He turned around to pour her a cup of coffee.

"I have some paperwork that needs to be done before tomorrow and didn't get to doing it today. Sookie called in sick, Manny's on vacation; you were too busy yourself so it took me over 3 hours to find someone to replace her. Michel was Michel and Lucan is teething. I have just enough time for some dinner and then I'm leaving your son with you to go back to the Inn for the paperwork."

"Not that I don't want to look after Lucan, but why don't you take the paperwork home?"

"I get distracted easier at home, at the Inn I'll lock myself in my office and hopefully by midnight it's all done."

"So, dinner then, huh?"

"Please."

"The usual?"

"Do you have to ask?"

"Guess not." Luke smiled and turned around to turn in the order.

When Lorelai still wasn't home around eleven Luke started to worry. He tried calling her at the Inn, but all he got was the night manager. "Hey this is Luke, is Lorelai there?"

"I haven't seen her in a while. I thought she went home already."

"She's not here."

"I would look for her, but she told me specifically not to disturb her, and the last time I did…"

"Yeah yeah, I remember."

"I'll tell her you called if I see her."

"Yeah thanks." Luke ended the call and tried calling Lorelai's cell. All he got was the voicemail. He left her a message, put the phone on the table and sat down on the couch. After 10 more minutes he got worried again so he went upstairs, got Lucan out of his bed and put him in the car seat. He arrived at the Inn only a few minutes later and saw Lorelai's car still in the parking lot. Inside the night manager told him he still hadn't seen Lorelai. "Thanks." Luke said as he walked towards Lorelai's office.

When he opened the door he saw her sleeping on her desk. He smiled as he put Lucan and the car seat on the floor and walked towards his wife. Carefully he placed a kiss on her forehead and shook her arm. "Lorelai, wake up."

"Uh… let me sleep."

"Come on, you have to go home."

"Huh." Slowly she opened her eyes, oblivious to where she was. "Where am I?"

"The Inn. You fell asleep doing paperwork."

"Oh no, I have to get this done. I just closed my eyes for 2 seconds because they were so tired,

I must have fallen asleep. I can't come, I have to stay here, I have to get this done."

"No you don't."

"Luke I have too." She started digging through her papers.

He took her hand in his to stop her. "There's another day tomorrow. If you'll do it now, there's a big change you start making mistakes and have to do it all over again tomorrow. Just take it home with you so you can work silently at home tomorrow. I'm taking Lucan with me to the diner so you can work in peace."

"But it's due before nine tomorrow."

"To bad, your accountant has to wait a little longer. You can call him first thing tomorrow but right now we're taking you to bed."

"But…."

"No buts. I'm taking you home. You'll see that the paperwork will go much better when you're not so tired tomorrow. Right now you have to sleep."

She smiled slightly. That would be nice."

Lorelai put all her papers in a briefcase when Luke went to get her coat. After helping her in the coat, he picked up Lucan's car seat and walked outside, saying goodbye to the night manager. "Do you mind if we leave the truck here? I don't feel like driving."

"Sure. I can pick it up tomorrow."

"Thanks."

Luke walked to the backseat of Lorelai's car to put the car seat in. Lorelai walked to the passenger side and sat down. For the first time that day she felt relaxed, and she was glad that Luke came to find her. The last few weeks had been crazy. She went back to work the day after they came back from London. Luke told her to stay home and get some rest because of the jetlag, but she figured they could use her help. The entire summer stayed the same. Busy for both her and Luke. Even with the extra help it was hard to get all the work done in time, that's why she was far behind on her paperwork. Her accountant needed it first thing in the morning.

Lost in her thoughts Lorelai didn't realize how Luke sat down next to her and started driving. She also didn't realize that Luke parked the car on their driveway a few minutes later. He had to shake her out of her thoughts before she realized they were home. She stepped out of the car without saying anything. They walked upstairs immediately, Lorelai into their bedroom to change and Luke into Lucan's bedroom to get him back to bed. Fortunately he was still asleep.

He found Lorelai already in bed a few minutes later. "Hey."

She looked up. "Hey."

"You look tired. Try to get some sleep. I'll be right back. Just have to brush my teeth."

She nodded and when Luke came back after brushing his teeth, she was already asleep.

-xxxx-

Lorelai woke up the same time Luke did the following morning. "Hey go back to sleep." He kissed her forehead.

"But I have too much work to do. I can still get this done before nine if I start now."

"You're exhausted, go back to sleep. Just sleep for another few hours and start the paperwork at a decent hour."

"Then why are you awake?"

"You know I have to, but you don't. I'm going to open the diner and come by here around the time Lucan usually wakes up with breakfast. Jake can handle the diner alone for a little while. Okay?"

She nodded and turned around, snuggling into her pillow. Before Luke had the change to leave the room, she was asleep again. He smiled as he left the room to check up on Lucan. He was still asleep.

After taking a shower and getting dressed he went downstairs to eat some breakfast. After that he walked towards the diner since his truck was still at the Inn. They took Lorelai's car home last night. At the diner the light from the answering machine was flickering. He pressed the button to listen to the message. "Hey Luke, this is Rory. I guess I just missed you. Anyway, I wanted to ask if this thing is still happening. Just give me a call early tomorrow. Well not too early because then I'd be still sleeping. I have my first class at 8.30 so call a little before that."

Checking his watch he saw it was almost 5.30, to early to call Rory so he started preparing the diner for the day.

Luke walked back into the house at 6.45. Jake came in around 6.30 and it looked like the diner would stay calm for a while. Jake promised to call if there were any changes, but also promised Luke he could handle it for a while.

Lorelai was still asleep when he walked into their bedroom. He decided to let her sleep and to give Lucan a bath first. Walking into his son's room, he saw the little boy wide awake. He started smiling immediately when he saw his father. "Hey buddy, you're awake already?"

Lucan reached out his arms pointing for his father to pick him up. "In a second okay? I'm going to get your bath ready first." He gave the baby a toy and walked into the bathroom to fill the bathtub and carried it back into Lucan's room. He took clean clothes, a diaper and a towel out of his dresser and put it on the changing table. Then he took the baby out of his bed and laid him on the changing table. "Let's get you out of these clothes huh." Lucan smiled in response.

Luke undressed his son and carried him into the bath. The baby enjoyed the feeling of the water on his skin as Luke enjoyed watching his son. He kept the baby extra long in the water before taking him out to dress him. They went downstairs together and Luke put his son in the playpen while he went into the kitchen to prepare the porridge in a bottle. Lucan was eating permanent food now twice a day. Some fruit around 10.30 a.m. and for dinner he ate vegetables and potatoes. When they started giving him this kind of food, Lorelai told Luke they could easily buy it in the grocery store, he however didn't want to hear about it, he wanted to cook the food himself. He cooked food at the diner and put it in little jars so that when Lorelai had Lucan during the day, she didn't have to go through any trouble.

While Luke was feeding the baby, Lorelai woke up. When she heard Luke's voice downstairs she walked downstairs before taking a shower. She smiled when she saw her two men. Lucan was drinking eagerly while Luke was talking to their son. He was always telling him stories, and she loved watching them when Luke didn't know she was. She sat down on the stairs and enjoyed the view, her paperwork totally forgotten.

When the bottle was empty, Luke put it on the table. He lifted Lucan to his chest and the little boy immediately saw his mom and started laughing. Lorelai put her finger on her lips trying to tell the baby he had to be quiet, but Luke turned around to see what his son was seeing. "Hey." He smiled when he saw his wife.

"Hey." Lorelai stood up and sat down next to Luke.

"How long have you been up?"

"Not so long." But her smile gave her away.

"So you were watching us again?"

"You know how much I love watching you."

He just shook his head. "You slept well after I left?"

"Yeah, I feel much better now."

"Good. Well Lucan's all done so I guess we're going to the diner now. There's breakfast for you in the kitchen."

"That's great, thanks."

He handed her the baby so he could get his jacket and the stroller. Lorelai pulled her son up and kissed his nose. "You're going with your daddy today okay? I'm sure you like it because you really like your daddy. Mommy's going to stay here and finish her work and when she's done, she'll come to the diner to see you okay?"

The baby smiled in response. "I'm sure he loves it, but he wants you to take it easy." Luke was standing next to her.

"I will, okay. Now go to your daddy." She kissed Lucan once more before handing him to Luke. "There you go."

"Thanks." He placed Lucan in the stroller, then took Lorelai's hands in his and pulled her off the couch into his arms. He put his arms around her waist as he kissed her. "I mean it okay, take it easy. Just call Michel that you won't come in today. Then after you're done with your work, maybe you can do something fun for yourself, go shopping or something."

"I don't have time for that. Besides that paperwork there are enough other things that need to be done. And I really need to check up on the Inn."

"Lorelai." Luke sighed.

"What do you want to do, cut the phone line and lock me inside the house?"

"That might be a great idea."

"But then I wouldn't be able to go shopping."

"You could have a movie marathon."

"No fun by myself."

"You could call Rory."

"Nah, she has school and Warren. They just started this week so she can't take an afternoon off. And I'm sure she wants to show Warren all around New Haven when she has the time and introduce him to all her friends."

"She probably did that already by now."

"Maybe, but she spent weeks here, I'm sure she wants some time for herself. So that leaves me to going to work."

"You could always go see Sookie, see how she's doing. Michel can handle the inn, together with Claire."

"Luke, don't you have to leave?"

"I do, I just want to make sure that you're okay. You were really tired the last few days. It's just work, and I know you think you can't be missing; the Inn is fine without you for a day. I think you should take it easy."

"I'll think about it okay?"

"Fine. I'm out of here then." He kissed her once go and then let her go. "See you later."

"Bye."

-xxxxx-

Lorelai finished her paperwork a little before 10. Luke was right last night when he told her that she would be able to focus more, once she wasn't as tired. She'd called her accountant and he promised to pick up the papers in a little while at the diner so she could go over there for a cup of coffee. She put on her jacket and headed outside. Since it was a beautiful day she decided to walk. The town was busy as always. Miss Patty and Babette were sharing the latest gossip on a street corner, Taylor was yelling at some school boys, Kirk was working as a window washer and Grant was singing a song while playing his guitar, close to the diner. With a big smile Lorelai past everybody, saying hello as she did.

When she entered the diner, Luke looked up with a smile. "Hey."

She walked towards the counter and leaned forward to kiss Luke. Then she walked to the playpen where Lucan was playing. She smiled at her son, but decided not to interrupt him. After watching him for a few minutes, she went back to the counter and asked for a cup of coffee.

With a sigh Luke turned around and poured her a cup.

"Thanks hon, you're the best."

"Yeah yeah, I know."

"You're a little full of yourself aren't you?"

"Look who's talking."

She just stuck out her tongue.

"Did you finish the paperwork?"

"Yep, the accountant will pick it up here within a few minutes."

"I see. And what are you going to do with the rest of your day?"

"Checking up on the inn, yell at Michel for a little while, you know, the usual."

"I thought we decided on you staying home today?"

"Don't remember such a thing. You must have been dreaming."

"Lorelai, you have to take it easy. You've been working hard ever since we came home from London. You didn't even stay home one day to get over that jetlag. It's time you start taking it easy. I thought you hired Claire so we could spend some more time together, but that didn't happen. We didn't even go to the cabin before Rory started school."

"I told you I'd think about it. And I've decided to go anyway. I know we never got to going to the cabin, and I'm really sorry, but I wasn't the only one that was busy. With the pressure of the paperwork gone, maybe I can take the day off tomorrow, but since you have to cover for Caesar and Lane, that won't really work."

"That I can't have a day off doesn't mean you can't. I want you to take some time to yourself, just relax in and a while."

"I know, but I figured it'd be nicer to spend that time together, you know? But if it makes you feel better, I'm not going to the Inn for long. I want to check up on Sookie and after that I'll come here to help you and Jake."

"You don't have to do that."

She raised her hand to silence him, although it wasn't the gesture that kept him from saying something, but the fact that the accountant just walked in.

After the accountant left, Lorelai said goodbye to Luke and went to the Inn. "Where have you been?" Michel asked with his annoying French accent the moment she walked into the lobby.

"I worked at home this morning Michel. I told you that. Is everything okay around here?"

"No, everything falls apart when you are not around."

"Right. How's Sookie's replacement doing today?"

"Don't know. Sookie sent him home when she came in this morning."

"Sookie's here?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

"Whatever." She turned around and walked into the kitchen where she saw her friend cutting some vegetables. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?"

"I thought you were sick."

"Oh, that was just yesterday. I feel much better now and I hated that someone else was running my kitchen."

"Are you really sure you feel good because I don't want to get sued because people got sick from your food."

"Hey." Sookie looked up upset.

"Okay okay I get it, you're fine. I'm glad. Hey, I'm in my office, call me if you need anything okay?"

"Okay. Bye sweetie."

In her office Lorelai decided to give her mother a call. That's the only thing she got to doing regularly after coming back from London. She tried calling at least twice a week and went to Friday night dinner every two weeks. This was one of the weeks they didn't have to go. Emily protested at this deal at first, but she knew how busy Lorelai was. Plus, Rory and Warren were still going every week, and usually took Lucan with them. This was meant to give Luke and Lorelai some time alone, but that didn't happen so far.

Emily picked up herself after the third ring. "Hello."

"Hey mom. How are you doing?"

"Fine. How are you?"

"Busy. But the summer is almost over so I hope the fall will be less busy."

"Is Rory bringing Lucan to Friday night dinner tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't talked to her yet, but I will ask when I do okay?"

"That would be nice."

"He's trying to turn around now. It won't be long before he will."

"He's growing up so fast."

"I know. But that's nice. He teaches himself new things every day, and that's great to see. If I wasn't so busy I could sit down all day, just watching him."

"You should then. You have to take some time for yourself and your son. You've been very busy lately."

"I know, that's what Luke told me. But taking off a day when he's working, just isn't that much fun."

"Even if you can spend the time with your son? Or your daughter? She really missed you this summer."

"She told you that?"

"Yes she did. She came here Monday after school to tell me how things were going. Warren had to go to some introduction meeting and she had some time left. She thought about going to see you, but when she called you, you told her how busy you were."

"She didn't ask if I wanted to hang out. I could have."

"She didn't want to disturb you Lorelai. You know how she is. Anyway, she came here instead and told me how much she missed you. She thought that after spending a school year away from you, you would hang out together during the summer."

"But I thought that she wanted to spend the summer with Warren. I didn't want to force myself on her, and since the Inn was busy anyway, I thought that was a good excuse."

"You girls should talk more often."

"Look who's talking." Lorelai smiled.

"I know that we haven't talked for a very long time, but I think we're doing okay now, right?"

"We are. I'm glad we realized that it's nice to talk once in a while. I really like our conversations mom."

"I'm glad. Now I have to go take my medicine and see what your father is doing. Make sure I see that grandson of mine at dinner tomorrow night."

"Will do. Bye mom."

"Bye Lorelai."

After laying down the phone, Lorelai thought about her mother's words. She assumed Rory wanted to spent all her time with Warren, and never even thought that wouldn't be true. Because she didn't want to feel sad she made sure she kept herself busy at work. Luke had been worried about her but because she felt like nothing could change the situation, she decided to ignore it.

She felt stupid now for throwing herself into all the work. Truth was they didn't need her all the time. They could have done perfectly fine without her. She gave both Claire and Michel more days off than necessary, and she didn't take any herself. It wasn't like she didn't spent any time with Rory. They went shopping twice, maybe three times, once with Warren, and they had one movie night when Luke had taken Warren to a ballgame. And Rory helped out at the inn once or twice a week, but even then they didn't get to hang out together, except for some talking while working.

She put her jacket on and walked to the kitchen. "Sookie, I'm heading out of here. I'm taking tomorrow off so I won't be here again until Monday. Michel and Claire should be fine together, and if not, just give me a call okay?"

"Okay. Have a great time sweetie."

"You too hon. I'm glad you're feeling better. I'm sorry for doubting that and your cooking skills."

"Don't worry about it. Now go."

She said goodbye to Michel who complained as expected, and to Claire who promised that things would go perfectly fine. Lorelai was glad that she hired her, and knew that after the good summer, she'd be able to keep her for a while.

-xxxxx-

Luke looked up when he saw Lorelai walk in, a confused look on his face. "Hey, you're back early."

"Can we talk upstairs?"

"Uh…sure." He turned around to Jake. "I'm going upstairs for a while. Call me if you need anything."

Then he followed Lorelai who was heading upstairs already.

"What's wrong?" He asked, when he closed the door of the apartment behind him.

"I'm an idiot."

"What?"

"I'm an idiot. The inn was busy but they could have done without me. I know I have the most amazing staff and that the inn runs fine when I'm not around. I spent the whole summer there, thinking that Rory wanted to spend all her time with Warren before going back to school, and I didn't want to be home alone, hanging in front of the TV while you were working and she was having fun."

"That's stupid. She wanted to spend time with you. Of course she wanted to hang out with Warren and her friends, but she wanted you too Lorelai. She called me several times asking me if I could talk you into taking some time off. She didn't want to make you feel guilty because of saying no, so she never asked herself and therefore helped you out at the inn. Hoping you got through all the work faster so the two of you could hang out. Why didn't you tell me about this before? The summer is over, now it's too late to change anything."

"I know." She sat down on the couch, holding her head in her hands.

He sat down next to her and put an arm around her. "Hey. It's okay. There still are the weekends. I know that now school has started she won't be able to come home every weekend, but I'm sure that she tries to be here as much as possible, you can go shopping or have movie nights, I'll keep Warren busy, and I'm sure he starts making his own friends now he started school."

"But what about us? We could have spent some time together as well. I know you gave Caesar some time off after we came back, but once he was back you had enough people to take some time off."

"What's done is done. All we can do now is make sure it won't happen again."

Lorelai looked up. "I have the rest of the day off, so I guess I'm taking Lucan home with me and call Rory by the time she's off."

Luke looked at his watch. "It's 12.30. Her last class for today ended at 12.00 so you can call her now."

"How do you know?"

"I talked to her this morning. We've been planning this thing for a few days now."

"What kind of thing?"

"You'll see. Just make sure that you take tomorrow off as well."

"I already did, same goes for the weekend. I told Sookie I won't be in again until Monday."

"Good. You're going home now?"

"Not before you tell me what we're going to do."

"I'm not telling you. Just go home and call Rory."

"But" She saw his look so decided not to finish the sentence. "Okay. Is Lucan in here?" She stood up to look in the crib.

"Yeah, he's asleep, you can leave him here."

"I'd really like to take him home. I want to spend time with him as well."

"Sure. Nothing can wake him up anyway."

"Wonder where he got that." Lorelai said with a big smile

"Hey, keep that up and I tell Jake to cancel your lunch."

"When did you give him the order."

"Right before you came in. I was planning on bringing it to you."

"Oh… so I messed up a plan?"

"This is much better. Now you go get Lucan, then I'll put your lunch in a take-out bag."

Lorelai walked into the house 15 minutes later, Lucan was still asleep, as expected. She decided to leave him in the stroller. She picked up the phone to call Rory. She dialed the number while she was walking towards the couch and Rory picked up by the time she sat down.

"Mom?"

"Yes it's me."

"Why are you home? It's not even 1 o clock."

"I decided to take the afternoon off. I've been working a lot lately, and I thought it was time to slow down."

"It is. It really is."

"Rory, I'm sorry." Lorelai reached to the table to get her lunch out of the take-out bag.

"For what?" Curious, because she didn't think her mother did something wrong.

"For not spending time with you this summer. For working all the time."

"Oh mom, it's okay. I understand that you were busy. It really doesn't matter."

"But it does. I've been keeping myself busy so I didn't have to spent time with you."

"I don't understand."

"I thought you wanted to spend the summer with Warren, and with your friends. I didn't want you to feel obligated to hang out with me so I worked instead. Plus, you never asked so I figured you liked the way things were going."

"Oh mom, I didn't want you to feel guilty so I never asked you if you wanted to hang out with me."

"We're stupid, the both of us. And now the summer is gone. You're back at Yale and you have homework again, and that internship coming up soon. You won't have the time to hang out anymore." She sounded sad.

"There's always the weekends right?"

"The ones I don't have to work. We're stupid, the both of us."

"How about hanging out now? I have not that much homework so it can wait until after dinner. We can go shopping if you want?"

"How about just hanging out and have a movie marathon. You can pick?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll be there in about 30 minutes okay?"

"See you then." Lorelai hung up with a smile. She picked up her lunch and started eating. By the time she was done, Lucan woke up. She picked him out of his stroller and went upstairs to get a blanket. Back downstairs she put the blanket on the floor and laid down, Lucan next to her. Until Rory came she played with her son.

Rory smiled when she walked into the house, and found her mother and brother on the floor, playing with a rattle. Lorelai was talking to the baby, and he was smiling. Without making any noise if not to disturb her mother, she walked to the desk to get a photo camera. Quietly she walked a little towards her mother, but not to far otherwise she would know Rory was there. She used the camera's zoom function to get the perfect picture. It wasn't until the flash went off, Lorelai noticed her daughter.

Lorelai sat up. "Hey, you scared me."

"Sorry. But you'll forgive me when you see the picture." Rory walked towards her mother and handed her the camera. She used the digital so Lorelai could see the picture immediately.

"Wow, that's a great picture. Thanks!"

"You're welcome. So you forgive me?"

"Only once. Next time…"

Rory leaned into hug her mother. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. From now on we're going to tell each other exactly how we feel without assuming how the other feels, okay?"

"Deal."

"I messed up what was supposed to be an amazing summer, because we were finally together."

"Nothing we can do about that anymore. Let's forget about that and think about what to do next. I've been thinking about those movies and I was thinking that first we can watch Willie Wonka, for good old time, then we can watch When Harry met Sally and I've thought about a few other movies we've seen at least a hundred times already."

"Sounds good to me." Lorelai jumped up to get the movies while Rory gave her brother a kiss and handed him the rattle he had dropped again.

Luke walked into the house around 7.30. He decided to close the diner early and called Caesar to make sure he was coming back in tomorrow, like he promised earlier that day. Luke was happy to find out he was and told Caesar that he and Jake were on their own until Monday. He smiled when he saw Lorelai and Rory on the couch, mocking some movie. Lucan was in Rory's lap, watching the TV screen as well. This is what he'd imagined the summer to be, unfortunately it didn't turn out that way. But he had a feeling that from now on things would change, starting this weekend.


	2. Family and alone time

_A/N: Here is the second chapter. Thanks to all of you who reviewed the first chapter of the sequel! I highly appreciate your comments and I love to hear how you feel about my work. Thanks to LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict for proofreading. I don't have the time to email you right now because I'm going hiking and have to be back in my room in an hour, and have to stop by the supermarket first, but I wanted to post the chapter before I left. This chapter takes place the day after the one in chapter 1 and you'll find out about Luke's plan. I hope you all like this chapter as much as the first one and of course, don't forget to let me know! _

**Chapter 2 Family and alone time**

Lorelai woke up early, not knowing what to expect of the day. She had tried hard to get Luke to tell her what they were going to do, but he wouldn't give in. Even when she woke him at three in the morning, hoping that he would be so sleepy that he gave the answer without thinking. She turned to her side and saw Luke still asleep. She lifted her body up a little so she could look at his alarm clock. 6.30 a.m. Normally Luke would have been long gone to open the diner. She moved a little closer to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. When he didn't respond she moved her lips towards his and kissed him there, letting her lips linger. After a few seconds he started to respond, without opening his eyes. Lorelai smiled through the kiss as he did, and slowly opened her mouth. After a minute or so she pulled away and Luke slowly opened his eyes.

"Good morning."

"Morning." She kissed his lips lightly.

"Nice way to wake up. What time is it?"

"6.30. Why aren't you up yet?"

"Because Caesar is opening the diner."

"But he's sick."

"He starts working again today. I have the weekend off, just like you."

"So, you tell me where we're going then?"

"No. It's a surprise. You'll see."

"But Luke."

"No buts. Go back to sleep, it's still early. I'll take care of Lucan."

"But I don't want to sleep anymore."

"I've never heard you say that before." He smiled.

"Come on Luke, tell me."

"No." He turned the covers away from him and got out of bed.

"Where are you going?"

"To check up on our son."

"He's not awake yet."

"How do you know?"

"Because he's not making any noise. When he's awake he starts making noises or you hear him play with his rattle. Trust me, our little boy is still asleep. Get back in here."

"But..."

"Trust me. He'll let us know when he's awake. If you go in there now all you do is wake him up and then he'll be cranky, and that he's enough these days with the teething."

"Fine." He got back into the bed and Lorelai scooted close to him immediately, laying her chin on his shoulder.

"This is much better." She kissed him. "You know how much I love waking up next to you?"

"I love waking up next to you, too."

"But you always do that. When I wake up, on the other hand, you're always gone."

"You could wake up when I do."

"In the middle of the night, when it's still dark, even in the summer?"

"It's not dark when I wake up at 4.45 in the summer. But you wouldn't know that since

you're always sleeping at that time."

"I am not always asleep at that time. I get up with you sometimes to take a shower and then go back to bed when you leave. Not often, but still." She kissed him again.

"I like it when you do that. You should do it more often."

"Mhmm..." She thought it over for a while before replying. "I would if you'd wake up an hour later."

"If I'd wake up an hour later I would definitely not have the time to do so."

"We have some time now. Lucan won't be up for half an hour or so, and even if he does, he's

fine with his rattle and his babbling for a while." She looked at him seductively.

He kissed her, then sat up pulling her up with him.

-xxxxx-

Two hours later they were all showered and had breakfast. Lorelai was sitting on the couch, playing with Lucan and Luke was cleaning up the kitchen. "Hey, Luke?" Lorelai yelled.

"No." He yelled back.

"No fun." She pouted and even though Luke couldn't see it, he knew.

"Stop that. It's not helping."

"How did you know?"

"Oh come on." He had to smile to himself.

"Stop that." She knew him just as well as he knew her.

Luke appeared from the kitchen. "What do you want to do this morning?"

"Don't you have plans?"

"I do, but they don't start this early. Rory will be here at 1.30 to pick up Lucan, then we'll leave. And don't say, 'Where are we going?' because I'm not going to tell you."

"Oh…." She looked sad.

Luke looked at his wife, not understanding her reaction. "Why are you sad?" He sat down

next to her.

"I thought we would be spending today as a family." Quickly she added. "Not that I don't like spending time with my husband because I do, it's just, after the summer I thought we could spend some time together, all of us."

"And we will. The weekend isn't over after today, there are two more days and there will definitely be family time. Today will be just about us though, at least from 1.30 on. We can spend some time together, the three of us, until then."

"I'd like that." She looked happy. "Can we go for a walk? It's a beautiful day so maybe we can walk to the lake, give our boy some fresh air?"

"Sure, sounds good. Let me finish cleaning up the kitchen and then we can go. You can get ready so we can leave when I'm done."

She nodded and put Lucan in the playpen, before walking upstairs to get some shoes. Luke had to wait 5 minutes and had Lucan in the stroller already by the time she came back downstairs. "Sorry, couldn't find the right shoes."

"You have like 50 pairs."

"Yeah, that's why it's hard to find the perfect shoes, Luke."

He shook his head and decided not to get into it. "You ready now?"

"Perfectly ready."

"Good, so are we."

They didn't need jackets so they could just go outside. They walked in silence, enjoying being together, and the fresh air after spending the whole summer inside. When they reached the lake Lorelai sat down in the grass, watching the water. Luke smiled at her, then took Lucan out of the stroller and sat down next to her, the baby in his lap.

"It's beautiful out here. I've lived in this town for over 20 years and I never realized how beautiful it is around here." Lorelai glanced at Luke.

"It is. It's often very quiet at this particular spot. I used to go fishing here or swimming or just came here to be alone and think. Just sitting here, watching the water."

Lorelai smiled. "We should do this more often."

"Yeah we should." They sat in silence, watching the water. Lucan was quiet, chewing on his small thumb as he watched the water with his parent, occasionally looking up to glance at his parents. Both Luke and Lorelai noticed this and smiled, watching their son and the water,

enjoying their private time. They stayed like that for almost an hour.

"I think we should go home now. Give Lucan his fruit and we still have to pack."

"Pack? Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"We're going to your cabin aren't we?" She looked in his eyes, knowing that he couldn't lie to her.

He nodded. "Yes, we're going to the cabin. We're going together today, Rory will take care of Lucan so they can go to Friday night dinner and we can have some private time. They will meet us, together with Warren, at the cabin tomorrow morning, around 11 o 'clock."

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Rory told me last week how much she missed you this summer and that it was too late to spend time together, so we planned this. Since it's only her first week she has a lot of free time and it seemed like the only weekend we could arrange this, so we did."

She hugged him then, holding him tight, almost crushing Lucan in between. "Thank you."

"Relax." He pulled back. "You're crushing our son."

She looked into Luke's lap where the small boy was watching her. She lifted him up and kissed his nose. "Sorry, buddy." The baby smiled. "Let's go home. We have a lot of packing to do."

"One bag and I get to pick which bag you're taking."

"Not fair."

"It's only for one weekend."

"We'll fight about this when we get home." She stood up and put Lucan on her hip.

"Put him in the stroller."

"Nah, I prefer holding him. He's been in that stroller enough this summer, I'd just like to hold him close for a while."

Luke put one arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him, using his other hand to push the stroller forward, and the three of them together walked home.

-xxxxx-

"Luke." Lorelai yelled downstairs. She was trying to pack but had trouble deciding what to take with her. She knew what she wanted to take but there was no way that it would fit in the bag Luke had given her earlier.

"You're not getting a bigger bag Lorelai." Luke yelled from downstairs.

"But."

"No buts. We're going for only a weekend so you don't need many clothes. Just get something to wear tomorrow and something to wear on Sunday. That's two pants, two shirts and two sets of underwear. The bag I gave you is even too big for that."

"I need more than that."

"No you don't."

"But."

He stood up, annoyed by the fact that she was fighting him about this for the past hour. He had packed his own stuff and Lucan's, in less than 10 minutes. He fed Lucan and made lunch for himself and Lorelai, which was getting cold downstairs. "If you don't come down soon you're lunch is gonna be cold."

"But I don't know what to take."

"That's because you have too many clothes. You're closet is full with things you never wear so I don't understand why you don't take them out."

"Not this again. Just help me, okay?"

"Fine." He gave her a small push so she would step away from the closet. Then he took two pairs of jeans, two sweaters, two shirts and a pajama. "There you go."

"But I don't want those."

He threw the stuff on the bed. "You know what? Do it yourself. I'm downstairs eating lunch. Rory will be here in half an hour. If you're not ready I'm going without you." With that he

turned around and walked back downstairs.

Lorelai watched him walk away and knew it was no use to say something so she turned back to her closet.

Rory walked into the house at exactly 1.30. Luke was sitting on the couch flipping channels.

"Hey Luke."

He looked up. "Hey Rory."

"Where's mom?"

"Upstairs, packing. She's been there for two hours now, her lunch is cold in the kitchen and she is yelling downstairs every 5 minutes if I can help her. I've been up there but she doesn't like what I picked so now I'm here."

"I'll help her."

"Thanks." He smiled gratefully.

Rory walked upstairs and found her mother in her bedroom, sitting on the bed, staring at the closet. "Need some help?"

"Please. I asked Luke but he doesn't want to help me anymore."

"So I've heard." Rory smiled and walked towards the closet. 5 minutes later Lorelai's bag was packed. It was filled completely and they had trouble closing it, but Lorelai liked what was in

it.

"Thanks hon."

"No problem. So he told you the plans for the weekend?"

"Yeah he did. I know I told you this yesterday, but I'm so sorry for what happened this summer."

"I know mom, and its okay. We can't change it, but let's at least enjoy this weekend together okay?"

"Okay. But are you sure you don't want to come with us now? I mean, you'd only be there for a day and a half or so."

"I'm sure. We have to go to Friday night dinner and the drive is too long to go after that. And this way you can spend some time alone with Luke, without a baby around that asks for attention all the time."

"He doesn't do that. I don't know what I would have done if he was a kid that needed attention 24 hours a day, but he's not."

"I know. But I figured you could use some alone time. We'll be there around 11 tomorrow morning and we won't leave until Sunday after dinner."

Lorelai smiled. "You sure?"

"Positive. Now let's get downstairs and see if Luke's still willing to make us some lunch and then you can leave."

"Sounds like a plan."

Half an hour later they were all ready to go. "So, Lucan's food is in the kitchen. We prepared everything so all you have to do is heat it up. His diapers and clothes are upstairs in his room and the bathtub is in the bathroom upstairs. You can fill it with water, using your elbow to check if it's not to hot and carry it to his room, or just move the standard into the bathroom if it's too heavy to lift. If you do that make sure you have his bathrobe with you so he won't get cold if you carry him from the bathroom to his room to dress him. Make sure you give him a bath before you feed him otherwise it will all come out again. If there are any problems, you can call Sookie. There's no phone in the cabin and it's most likely my cell won't work either. There's also a few numbers on the fridge. His pediatrician, 911, and the emergency number where you can reach us. You call the number and get a rancher. You give him a message and tell him the address of the cabin so he can bring us the message. He'll get it to us as soon as possible and call you back. And…"

"Mom stop. Please. You've told me about the numbers at least 10 times in the past half hour and I know how to take care of my little brother. I watched him over 20 times during the summer. I know how to heat up a bottle or his food and I know how and when to give him a bath. And I definitely know the alarm number. Don't worry. Lucan's going to be fine, I'm going to be fine. We are both going to be fine. We'll see you tomorrow at 11 o clock. Okay?"

Lorelai sighed. "Okay."

"Now hand me the baby."

Lorelai was holding the baby tight to her chest not wanting to let him go.

"Mom, it's only for one night."

Lorelai looked down at her son. "You're going to be alright aren't you? You're not going to hold this against me for the rest of your life are you? I really love you. I really do, and I'm going to see you again tomorrow."

Luke put a hand on her shoulder. "He's going to be fine. He loves Rory and he loves spending time with her, and she's with him. We have to go now, otherwise we'll be jammed in traffic in a few hours."

Lorelai nodded, then lifted the baby a little higher and kissed him. "I'm going to miss you, honey." Then she handed the baby to Luke who kissed him as well before handing him to Rory.

"There you go. Bye buddy. Be nice for Rory okay?"

"I will." Rory said in a baby voice as she waved Lucan's hand up and down. "Bye mommy, bye daddy."

Lorelai kissed Rory's cheek. "Bye hon."

"Bye mom." And then they left.

-xxxxx-

"Are you sure they are going to be okay?"

Luke looked at his wife. They were on the road for half an hour and this was already the third time she asked. He felt annoyed when she asked him the same question again but when he looked in her eyes, he saw concern. "Yes, they will be fine. Don't worry okay? Rory will take good care of him, and it's only for the night."

"I know but…"

"He is not going to hold this against you for the rest of your life, or his life, Lorelai. He won't even remember it because he's too small."

"But it's just like it was with my parents."

"What?" He turned to look at her again before turning his attention back to the road.

"My parents left without me so many times. They left me with a random person to take care

of me. You know how that turned out."

He shook his head. "First of all, Rory is not a random person, she's his big sister. Second, everything turned out just fine. You and your mother are doing great right now."

"Yes, after fighting for over thirty years, Luke. I don't want that with him, I love him."

"You're nothing like your mother Lorelai, and you will never be. She loved you even though she wanted different things for you than you wanted. It took her a long time to understand that those things weren't what you wanted and now things are fine. You and Lucan will never have a relationship like that because you don't want stuff like that for him. And it's only for one night, it's not like we're doing this every weekend."

"But it's the first time we leave him alone since he's born. He's so little, I don't want him to be all independent yet."

"He's not. He's being spoiled by his big sister. As far as he notices where he is, he's going to have a great time. Even at your parents' house."

She smiled at that. "Thanks."

He took her hand in his and squeezed it. "You don't have to say that."

"But somehow you always know how to make me feel better."

"That's why you married me, right?"

"I guess. That among other things."

"Something tells me this conversation could go on forever."

"It could, unless you stop right there so I can get a cup of coffee."

"No way. Plus I like this, you know?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Really? You like to talk about feelings?"

"Not that, just spending time together. Rory's not the only one who missed you during the summer."

"I missed you too, Luke." She squeezed his knee. "And we're going to make up for the lost time. So how long until we get to your cabin?"

"We're just got on the road. It will take a few hours to get there."

"Then I definitely need coffee."

"Sorry, but we passed the place. Guess you missed that change."

"But this is America, honey. You can buy coffee everywhere."

-xxxxx-

"So this is it." They had parked the truck a few minutes ago and where walking through the woods.

"Not yet. But we're almost there."

"I think I could like it out here. Although there is no civilization at all."

"I warned you about that. But you said you didn't need any."

"I don't. I will be fine. Plus, we're only staying for the weekend."

"Turn right."

They turned right and walked down the hill. It didn't take long before Lorelai saw the lake.

"Wow. I thought that the lake in Stars Hallow was beautiful this morning but this is…."

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Luke added after she kept silent for a few seconds.

"Yeah." She walked towards the lake. "This is beautiful, Luke. I can't believe you never took me here before."

"Come on, this way." They walked close to the lake and it didn't take long before Lorelai saw the cabin.

"So this is your famous cabin."

"Yeah well…"

"It looks great Luke."

"Thanks." They stepped on the porch and Luke put their stuff down before fishing the keys out of his pocket. He opened the door and they stepped inside. They entered a big living room, slash kitchen space. Lorelai put her stuff down on the floor and looked around while Luke went to open all the curtains.

"How come everything is in such a good shape if it's been so long since you've been here?"

"I've been paying a guy named Randy to fix everything around here once a year. I called him

a few weeks ago and asked him to take a look, fix what was needed, do some painting and clean up the whole space, just in case we'd use it."

"He did a great job. We need him at our house, too."

"So you like it?"

"What I've seen so far. Show me the rest."

"Okay. Follow me."

"This is the master bedroom." He opened the first door on his left. There was a big wooden bed with matching bed side tables on both sides. There were no covers on the bed. The curtains were flowery. There was also a small desk which surprisingly matched the bed, and so did the chair.

"Wow. Where did your parents find furniture like that? This bed is beautiful." Lorelai took a few steps forward and let herself fall down on the bed.

"My dad made it." Luke was still standing in the door opening.

"Really?" Lorelai sat up. "Wow. Now I can see where you learned it from. This is really amazing, Luke."

"Come on, I'll show you the rest."

They walked into the next room. "This room was from Liz. My dad made all the furniture himself. Well, like all the furniture in here for that matter." The room had a single bed. The room wasn't big, but good enough for vacation. There was also a small desk that matched the bed. The next room was Luke's and was about the same as Liz's except for the furniture that looked completely different. There was also a small bathroom. Even though there was no electricity in the cabin, there was running water, but since there was no electricity there wasn't a boiler to heat up the water.

"You tell me that now?" Lorelai looked at her husband in shock.

"I've told you that there was no electricity in here, what did you expect?"

"I wasn't thinking I guess."

"As you might have seen there's a barbecue in the kitchen that we can move outside. It works on gas and we can use it to boil water and to cook. I brought everything we need; it's in the back of the truck. So I'm going up there to get everything and you can unpack our stuff, okay?"

"Sure." She watched how Luke walked away and just when he was about to leave the cabin she called his name. "Luke?"

"Yeah?" He turned around.

She walked closer to him and put her arms around his waist. "I love it here." She smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

He pulled away after a few seconds. "I better get the stuff from the truck. I'll be right back."

She kissed him again before she let him go and turned around to unpack everything.

-xxxxx-

Rory was standing in front of her grandparents' house. It was almost 7 o clock. Warren was standing next to her, carrying Lucan's car seat. "You ready?"

"Yeah." He'd been coming to Friday night dinners every week since he arrived in America, and he really liked Rory's grandparents. Rory had told him many stories about them while she was in London, and he was glad he finally got to meet them.

"Hello Warren, Rory." Emily opened the door herself.

"Hey Grandma." Rory kissed Emily's cheek and stepped inside.

"Hello Emily." Warren followed.

"I see you brought my grandson. That's a nice surprise."

Rory smiled, knowing that her grandmother had called her mother a day earlier, asking her to make sure Lucan came to Friday night dinner as well. "It sure is grandma."

"Your grandfather is in the living room. I'm going into the kitchen to see how far Paula is with dinner."

"Okay."

Rory and Warren walked into the living room, where Richard was reading a newspaper. "Hey Grandpa."

"Rory." Richard looked up happily. "Hello Warren. How are you doing?"

"Very well sir."

"Sit down. Let me get you something to drink." Richard stood up.

"Soda for me grandpa."

"Fine. And what would you like Warren?"

"Do you have beer?"

"I think we do." Richard was used to having beer in the house since Luke and Lorelai got

married. And Warren preferred beer over something else as well.

Rory took Lucan out of the car seat and sat down on the couch, while Richard walked away to get the drinks. Warren sat down next to her. "Have I told you how much I like your grandparents?"

"A few times, yes."

"They are really nice."

"They really like you, too." Rory wondered sometimes what her grandparents would have thought of Warren if she had taken him home a few years before, but then shook the thoughts

away, happy that they approved of him.

"Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes." Emily walked into the room and sat down. "Can I hold my grandson now?"

"Sure grandma." Rory handed her the baby.

Lucan looked at his grandmother with his big blue eyes. He looked serious, not really sure yet

if he liked his new situation. "He looks bigger. Don't you think he looks bigger?"

"You've seen him last week grandma. I'm sure he didn't grow within a week."

"I don't know. He definitely looks bigger, and heavier."

"Maybe. He loves eating."

"He's just like your mother. He looks like Luke, but when it comes to eating, he's just like your mother."

"Don't tell Luke that, he still has hope."

"I won't." Emily smiled.

"He's getting teeth now."

"Already? He's growing up so fast." She opened Lucan's mouth to see the little white spot. "I

see."

Lucan looked confused now. He decided that he didn't like this and started crying.

"What did you do with my grandson Emily?" Richard walked inside with the drinks.

"Nothing. I was just looking at his teeth and he just started crying."

Rory stood up and picked her brother again. "Don't worry about it grandma, he's been cranky all week." Lucan stopped crying the second Rory held him.

"Well, looks like he really likes you."

"And I really like him too." She kissed his forehead, and then turned to Warren. "Tell Grandpa how your first week at Yale was."

"Yes tell me Warren. How do you like Yale?"

"I like it a lot so far. I haven't had many classes yet, mostly introduction, but the building is amazing. I can see why Rory picked this particular school when she had the chance to choose.

I'm sure you're very proud she's going to the same school you attended."

Richard smiled proudly. "It was her decision to make, but I'm glad she picked Yale. She's an excellent student."

"I can't believe this is my final year already. Time goes by so fast."

"It sure does."

"Dinner is ready." Paula walked in the living room.

"Thanks Paula. Come on; let's go to the dining room." And with that, they all stood up.

-xxxxx-  
After dinner Luke and Lorelai were sitting on the porch, watching how the sun reflected on the lake. They hadn't talked for a few minutes, just enjoying the view. Of course Lorelai had to break the silence after a while.

"I can't believe you never took me here before."

He looked at her. "I wanted to, you know."

"Why didn't you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It just never happened until now."

"I'm glad it happened. We have to come here more often."

"Would you like that?"

"Yeah. Maybe a weekend once a month or so. Just to spend time with our family, to get away

from the craziness of the town and the rush of our work."

"Sounds good." He smiled at her. "That's what we did when Liz and I were little. We went

here once a month, sometimes even more often."

"It's great. We can continue the tradition with our family. Lucan will love it here. When he's

older you can teach him how to fish because we both know I can't teach him that. He can play

in the forest and swim in the lake. And we can sit here and watch him."

He pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder. "And our daughter can pick flowers and I can teach her how to make a garland."

"Our daughter, huh? We never talked about this since we came back from London."

"We were too busy to talk about it. But I really want it you know."

"Now?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"Well, we're both busy and Lucan is still little. Maybe it's better to wait a while."

"Maybe." She sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Her voice gave her away.

"Tell me."

"It's just, we're both getting older. I know that our lives are very busy right now, but

sometimes I feel like if we don't do it now, we never will."

"We've got time."

"Not much Luke. We're getting older and the risks will get higher."

"I don't want to take any risks. Maybe we have to forget about it completely." He looked at her.

"What? I don't want to forget about it."

"But you said that there are risks. I don't want to take any risks and since we have a perfect healthy family now, maybe we should forget about it."

She turned away. "Fine, let's forget about it." She stood up and walked away. Luke stood up immediately as well; ready to follow her. "Luke, stop." She turned around knowingly. "I need to be alone for a while."

"But I want to talk about this."

"We will, but I have to think about this first. Don't worry, we're not fighting, I just have to be

alone for a few minutes, okay?"

"Fine." He watched her walk away and sat back down.

Fifteen minutes later Lorelai came back. Luke was still sitting on the porch, staring at the

water. He looked up immediately when he heard Lorelai approach. He couldn't read the

expression on her face. "Hey."

"Hey." Her voice was flat and didn't give her feelings away. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. I understand. Look, I didn't mean it like that. If you want to have this conversation now we can, but I don't want to fight about it. I just want us to think about all our options before we make a decision."

"I already told you that we aren't fighting Luke. I know we have to think about everything before we make a decision. I just thought that in London we already made it, apparently now you're having second thoughts."

"No, not really at least. It's just… I've been thinking about the risks over the summer. I know we're getting older and that the changes will be… I would love to have another kid Lorelai, I really do, but I don't want to lose you because of that."

"Who says you will lose me if we get another kid? I don't understand." She looked at him, confused.

"Please sit down." She did. "A few weeks ago you were working late at the Inn. Rory was there and Warren was in her room on the internet. She was watching this show about the risks of pregnancy in older woman. There was a woman who had the same age as you and she died when she gave birth. The baby survived so the father had to take care of a new born and dealing with the loss of his wife. And he wasn't doing well Lorelai, he wasn't. The kid was two years old now, and the man was a mess. It got me thinking."

"I'm not old Luke. I can't believe you're saying that I'm old."

"I'm not saying that. I'm just…" He looked frustrated. She always had come up with a joke to get herself out of a situation.

Lorelai knew the look and sighed. "So things go wrong sometimes. That was one woman Luke, thousands of women give birth every day and sometimes there are complications, but most of the time there aren't. People get healthy babies every day and live happily ever after."

"But what if something happens. I don't want to lose you Lorelai."

"I don't want to lose you either. Things can always go wrong Luke. We can get in a car crash and die together, or one of us dies and the other stays behind. But we shouldn't think about things that could happen, that would drive both you and me crazy. We're very much alive now and we can't live while we're afraid. Sometimes you have to take risks. Like you do every time you get in the car. And things go right a million times, but there's always the chance that something goes wrong. Can't we drive a car anymore because of that? What do we have to do then? Drive a bike? you could get hit by a car. Walk? Same thing. Stay home? You can fall down the stairs and break your neck. Stay downstairs because of that? It's impossible Luke."

"Okay I get it, but there's a difference between driving a car and having a baby."

"Maybe there is. Look, I've been thinking. We don't have to have another kid if you don't want to. I have two healthy kids and I'm happy. It would be nice to get a third, but I'd still be happy if we should decide against it. But I don't think that fear is the way to make this decision."

"Then what is?"

"Do you want another kid Luke? Don't think about the risks or anything, just answer my question."

He closed his eyes and opened them again. "Yes."

"Do you want that kid now?"

"Yes. But…"

"No, don't. If it's something we both want, then why can't we just do it?"

"Because it's not only you and me we have to think about. I want to make this decision, but I

want to make it rationally."

"Then why don't we make an appointment with doctor Elder and ask for advice? She can tell us the risks and the chances we have, and then we can make the decision. But remember that Lucan was born only a few months ago and nothing went wrong there."

"Did you forget about getting premature contractions? Everything turned out fine, but I was afraid."

"So was I, but there's no use to think about what could have happened. Nothing happened. We have a beautiful healthy son and that's all that matters."

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Let's see doctor Elder sometime next week, and then we can make a decision. Alright?"

"Sounds good." Luke looked at Lorelai and knew she wasn't completely satisfied with this decision. "Are we okay?"

"I told you that we weren't fighting Luke. This is just a normal conversation about a subject

that affects both of us."

"But you're not happy with the outcome."

"What do you want me to say Luke? I seriously don't know. You can't expect me to be

completely happy with it, but I'm okay with it."

"I doubt that."

"Look, of course I wanted you to say that you were ready for another kid now, but I understand your concerns and I respect that. Just tell me things like this without me having to bring them up. You told me you've seen these weeks ago, so you must have had it on your mind for that long. You have to tell me things like that Luke. You can't keep it from me until I ask about it. This isn't fair for the both of us."

"I'm sorry."

"That's what you always say. I'm not mad, but I just want you to promise me that you tell me when there's something on your mind. We can avoid a lot of problems when we do that, like the whole Rory situation. You and Rory both feel like you have to protect me and therefore don't mention things. I don't want you walking around with whatever it is; I just want you to tell me so we can talk about it."

"But in London I promised you that I would let you decide when you were ready for this."

"Don't you see? Now I am ready you start telling me you're having second thoughts. Don't you realize that hurts? If we talked about this before, it would have been okay. We could have gone to Dr. Elder and asked her the questions you have, so we could have made a decision when I was ready."

"I really want another child. I just want to know if it's responsible."

"I know that. Don't you see that isn't my point? We already solved that, all I asked was if you won't keep things from me anymore. Tell me what's on your mind. I know that I'm just the same, but I'm trying really hard to work on it, to tell you when something's on my mind. I know I fail sometimes, but I'm trying, and I want you to do the same. This will only work if we talk Luke."

"What this?"

"Us."

He looked at her with a shocked expression, even afraid.

"Don't give me that look. We're doing great; I'm just saying that if we want to continue to be great, we have to talk. If we both keep things from each other, if we don't communicate, we'll grow apart at some point. I don't know when, but it will happen. Look around us to every failed marriage, communication is the biggest problem."

"What are you talking about?"

"I watch TV too sometimes, Luke. I don't want to scare you; I just want us to be okay. I married you because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I just want to make sure that we both make sure that happens. That's all."

He smiled. "So we have to communicate more, huh?"

"Yes, that was my point."

"Good. I can do that."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He kissed her to reassure her. "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you too."

"Good."

"But you have to promise me something too."

"Sure, what?"

"Don't walk away when I say something you don't like, even if it's to organize your thoughts. I respect that you need that sometimes, but I want to be able to talk things over while discussing it, not waiting for you to return because you walked away."

"I know that was wrong, and I'm sorry. I guess that's something I need to work on."

"Yeah, I guess so."

She kissed him again, and then she stood up and pulled him up with her.

"Where are we going?"

"We're alone, without our kids. We can do whatever we want so I thought that we communicated enough for now and do something else married couples do occasionally." She smiled seductive.

"And what do you have in mind?"

She whispered something in his ear.

"Sounds like a plan." And with that, they both went inside.


	3. All about family

_A/N: Another chapter finally up. Follows last chapter. The following day when Rory and Warren come to the cabin.  
__Thanks to LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict for proofreading and those wonderful words! And thanks to all of you who reviewed chapter 2, and I'm glad you're all liking the sequel! And I'm not going to tell you what's going to happen. I partially know, but I thought the same when I wrote it doesn't make any sense, and I ended up somewhere completely different. Anyway, have fun reading this chapter and let me know what you think!_

**Chapter 3 All about family**

A little after eleven Rory still wasn't there and Lorelai started to get nervous. She loved spending a night alone with Luke but she missed her son, and her daughter.

"What's taking them so long?" She took her cell phone out of her pocket only to find out that there was no signal. "Damn, what if something happened, they can't reach us."

Luke had to smile inwardly at the stressing of his wife. "Relax, they are fine. It probably took them a little longer than expected, to get here."

"But we told them exactly what time they had to leave to be here in time."

"And maybe they ended up leaving a little late because Lucan needed a clean diaper or because Rory had trouble deciding which clothes she wanted to bring. As I recall correctly the same thing happened yesterday when I wanted to leave at 1.30 and we ended up leaving almost 45 minutes late. Or there's a guy with a trailer driving in front of them so they can't drive as fast as usual or…"

"Yeah yeah I get the idea. I hope you're right."

"Don't you know by now that he's always right?"

Lorelai turned around at the sudden extra voice and looked in the eyes of her daughter. "Rory." She smiled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine mom. Perfectly fine. It's 10 past 11 so I thought we were perfectly in time. It was pretty busy on the road."

"I…"

"Don't say I told you so Luke." Lorelai stepped forward to take Lucan out of Warren's arms.

"Hey buddy; did you have a good time with your sister? Have you been a good boy at grandma's yesterday?"

"He's been great mom, although he didn't seem to like grandma that much."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as long as he was sitting with me or Warren he was all happy and babbling, but when grandma put him in her lap he couldn't decide whether to cry or not, and when she started looking at his teeth he did. He only calmed down when I took him back."

"So he's not a big fan of grandma huh. Wonder where he got that from."

They all had to laugh, including Warren who heard a lot of stories about Lorelai and Emily.

"So, how about I give you the grand tour?"

"Please. I've been curious about this cabin for years now."

"I know how you're feeling hon, and I'm sure you'll love it, except from the fact that there's no warm water."

"What? She's joking isn't she?" Rory looked at Luke in shock.

"What is it with you girls? You're all the same. Of course there is no warm water since there is no electricity."

"What about gas?" Warren asked.

"No, only propane in a tank for the barbecue, but you can heat up water on there, as long as there's gas of course."

"I see. Did your parents buy this cabin Luke?"

"Yeah. The old owner had it for about two years before he decided to sell it. My parents did a lot with it, like digging a well so they could get running water, but it was too much work to get gas lines or electricity and they didn't really have the money. And since we only came here on the weekends or sometimes longer during summer vacation it was never really necessary."

'I guess we just have to get used to it, since Luke and I decided to come here once a month from now on."

"How about the winter, without gas and electricity?" Warren was very interested.

"There's a fire place and since the cabin isn't that big it's perfect to heat up the entire place."

"Sounds good. Now how about that tour?" Rory interrupted the guys, afraid they would go on for hours.

"Come on in." Lorelai opened the door and everybody followed her inside. They got the same tour Lorelai got the day before.

"Luke this place is really great."

"Well, you're always welcome to join us when we come here, if it works out with your school schedule and all."

"Sounds great." Rory smiled. "Sounds really great!"

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai and Rory were taking a walk, while Luke took Warren fishing. "It's really beautiful out here mom."

"Yeah. I can see why Luke likes it so much around here. Too bad he never took us here before, but that's going to change."

"Yeah." Rory smiled. "Hopefully Warren and I can come along more weekends. But tell me, how was your alone time?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Mom!"

Lorelai smiled. "It was fine, really. The drive here was long, but we talked and that was really nice. Then he gave me the grand tour here and we had dinner and we talked more."

"Talked about what?" Rory noticed something in her mother's voice.

"About having another kid."

"And how did that go? You don't sound really happy."

"It was ok, but not the way I hoped. We talked about this in London, and he said that if I was

ready to have another kid, that he was with me. So last night I told him that it would be nice now, that we shouldn't wait too long because we're both getting older because and the risks get higher, and suddenly he says that maybe we shouldn't do it at all."

"Why?"

"Apparently he thinks that he's going to lose me if we have another kid. A few weeks ago you were watching some kind of TV show about risks with pregnancy in older woman and you let him watch too."

"I remember that one. Warren was on the internet in my room and there was nothing on so I kind of stopped zapping on that channel. Don't know why because it wasn't really interesting.

I'm sorry mom."

"It's okay. We talked about it and we decided that we're going to go see Dr. Elder and talk about the risks and chances before we make a decision. It's not what I was hoping for, but it's a good compromise."

"So he called you old?"

"Yeah. Can you believe that? I'm not old. I'm never going to be old."

"I hope you will mom. I hope you're getting very old."

"Not what I was talking about, but thanks."

Rory smiled and leaned in to hug her mother. When she pulled away she said, "I really missed this over the summer. The two of us talking."

"I know, me too. But let's not talk about that anymore. We can't change what happened but we can do something about the future, right?"

"Yeah."

"So tell me, how was your summer with Warren?"

"It was great. I showed him about every place in Connecticut and we went to New York too. Just hanging around, having fun after working hard for a year and with another year like that coming up. You know; summer vacation."

"Sounds good."

"It was good. I'm really glad he decided to come here. I never meant to fall in love with someone when I went to London, but I did. I don't think I can have a relationship with an ocean between us and I was really worried about that, but then he said he wanted to come to America with me and he applied to so many different schools just to be sure he got a spot somewhere. He was accepted in almost all of them and got to pick which one he preferred most, and he picked Yale because that's where I am. I told him that wasn't the right way to make a decision, but he said that it doesn't matter for him to which school he's going to, as long as it was in America. And this morning in the car he said that he made the right choice. He really likes Yale, even after one week."

"That's great hon, to tell you the truth I was terrified that you would meet a boy and that you wouldn't come home. And when you told me you met a boy; that really scared me."

"I could never have not come home mom. You know how much I missed you. No matter how much I loved being in London, I really wanted to go home and to be with you again."

"I'm glad. But what would you have done if Warren didn't have decided to come here, but stayed in England?"

"I don't know. But why think about that? He's here now and we have a whole year ahead of us, and we'll see what we're going to do after that. I don't want to think about that right now. I just want to enjoy having him here, and we'll see where we go from here."

"That's good." Lorelai stood up. "Come on, let's go see what our guys are up to."

"Sounds like a plan." Rory got up as well and followed her mother back to the cabin.

Luke and Warren were sitting at the lake side, close to the cabin, the stroller with Lucan in between them. Lorelai and Rory watched them from a distance. "Hey mom?"

"Yeah?"

"It would be nice if you and Luke decide to have another kid. I'd love to have another brother, or a sister."

"Yeah it would. Just don't tell him that we talked about this okay? This is between him and me and I don't want him to feel as if we discuss everything together."

"He already knows that mom, and I don't think he expects it any other way."

"You think?"

"I know."

"How about Warren?"

"What about him?"

"Does he know?"

"Partially I guess. But he didn't really see us together that much yet, not like it was before. But he'll figure it out soon enough. And he has to learn to live with it."

"Glad we agree. Come on, let's see if they caught anything."

Luke looked up when he heard footsteps. "Hey."

"Hey. How's it going?"

"Good. We caught some nice fish for dinner tonight." He pointed at the bucket where some fish were swimming circles.

"We can't eat those Luke. They are so cute, look at them swimming circles. They look really scared."

"Yeah Luke. And don't you think the bucket is way too small for those big fish? There's a big lake where they can swim freely. Why don't you put them back?"

"Because I figured you wanted to eat something tonight."

"Of course we do, but not those poor fish. I'd rather starve than eat those." Lorelai was shocked that Luke expected her to eat the fish.

"Yeah." Rory replied, equally shocked.

Luke looked at Warren and they both started to laugh. "I told you they'd react like that."

"You sure did."

"You set us up." Lorelai looked even more shocked now and faked anger. If you two want to bond together against us you can sleep outside on the porch tonight."

"If you don't want to sleep next to me, you sleep outside on the porch tonight. It's my cabin."

"I thought that ever since we got married everything was ours? Not yours or mine but ours?"

"Yeah it is but…"

"But what?"

"It was just a joke Lorelai. Come on, don't be mad."

Lorelai wasn't sure anymore if she should be mad or not. She knew that Luke was serious

when he said the words.

"Come on guys, don't fight. This is our weekend together. Even though you're planning on going here once a month I'm not sure if Warren and I can join you every time because of school. So, since we don't know when we'll have a weekend like this again, we better enjoy every single moment now, and fighting doesn't fit into that. I'm sure Luke didn't mean what he said and you know it mom. And Luke, it wasn't a very nice thing of you to say. The only thing that is still yours is the diner, like the Dragonfly is my moms, but that's just legal in case something goes wrong so you won't lose everything. I don't want to hear anything about this again and I want you to throw the poor fish back into the lake and then maybe we can go out for dinner tonight if there is a restaurant or something close here, although I doubt there is anything close here. Am I clear?"

Luke and Lorelai looked at each other and smiled. "Very clear hon. I'm sorry."

"Me too." Luke replied.

"Good."

Warren picked up the bucket and threw the fish back into the lake and they all watched how the fish swam away, since the water was very clear.

"What do you want to do now? It's too early to eat so we can do whatever you want."

"What did you do around here, besides fishing?"

"When I came here when I was little, Liz and I went swimming when the weather was nice. My dad was usually working on his furniture or fixing something in the cabin, and my mother was fishing, or cooking or looking for flowers."

"What else?"

"We went for long walks in the woods. Sometimes we left early in the morning, brought some food for lunch and stayed out all day. Walking, having a picnic. Just enjoying being together."

"But you don't like to picnic. You don't see the use of eating on the floor. You told me more than once."

"My mother loved it. My father always said what I said about picnics. Liz and I liked it and my father came because he liked spending the time with us. He loved the nature too and he liked the walking so he took the picnic for granted."

"Then what happened?"

"My mother died and we never picnicked again. I guess it reminds me of the picnics with my mother. Liz and I asked my dad about picnicking more than once after my mother died, but he kept saying that there is no use to eating on the floor so I guess I took that over from him."

"I didn't know that. I'm sorry Luke."

"Don't be. I should tell you stuff like this more often. It's just that I'm not really comfortable

talking about this."

"I know." Lorelai smiled and took his hand in hers. "How about we have one of those walks tomorrow? We can bring food for a picnic. But we don't have to if you don't want to. Like Rory said, we all have to enjoy this weekend and I don't want you to do anything you don't

like."

"I would love to." He squeezed her hand to reassure her that he was telling the truth.

"Good. So what do you say?" She turned to Warren and Rory.

"Sounds good, Mom."

"Yeah, sounds good, Lorelai."

"So then that's settled. How about now? What do you feel like doing?"

"Well, Luke said something about swimming? The water looks really nice and it's still warm so I think it could be nice."

"You so don't like swimming." Lorelai smiled at her daughter.

"I do sometimes."

"Okay fine, let's go swimming."

After half an hour both Rory and Lorelai had enough of the swimming and Lucan was getting fussy in his stroller, so it was a good time to get out of the water. Luke and Warren stayed in the water and decide to have a race.

Lorelai put a towel around her and took Lucan out of the stroller. She sat down on the dock and Rory sat down next to her. Luke and Warren swam away and screamed to Lorelai.

"The line of the dock is the finish line. You are the jury and have to say who won. Okay?"

"Sure." She screamed back. Lucan looked up at his mother, a questioned look on his face.

"Don't worry about it; you'll be just like that when you're all grown up since you're a boy too." Lucan smiled as if he knew what his mother was talking about. "Okay." She screamed. "You can start on three. One…. Two…. Three…"

Both Luke and Warren started swimming. They were going equally fast in the beginning but soon Warren passed Luke. "Come on Luke. You can beat that kid." Lorelai sheered.

"Go Warren. You can beat that old man."

"Hey." Lorelai turned to look at her daughter. "You do know that he's not that much older than me right? First he's calling me old and now you're starting too?"

"Sorry. I didn't meant it like that. But they are coming closer so we better watch." They turned their attention back to the men.

"Come on Luke, you can do it." Luke came closer to Warren who was getting tired from his fast start.

"Come on Warren, you're almost there."

When they finally passed the dock Warren beat Luke with a feet distance in between. They guys swam to the dock. "And?" Warren asked.

"Like you don't know." Luke said annoyed, but offered his hand. "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"But I would have beaten you if we had a few feet more. You were really getting tired in the end."

"Well, I won anyway."

"Wanna go again? I bet I can beat you this time."

"Sure. I bet you won't."

"What are we going to bet for?"

"Guys. Don't do this. Let's not start betting, you will only start fighting."

"Stay out of it Lorelai."

Lorelai sighed and stood up. "Do whatever you want. I'm going to feed our son. You be your own jury. Come on Rory."

"Be happy to."

"You know how to turn on the barbecue so you can heat up a bottle?"

"Yep. No problem. You guys enjoy your racing, but I'm warning you, no fighting!"

"No fighting. I promise."

"Good."

Lorelai and Rory walked towards the cabin and Lorelai handed Rory her little brother. Then she walked inside to get a pan and filled it with water. She filled a bottle with water and formula and walked back outside, lightened the barbecue and put the pan on it, the bottle in the pan. Rory was watching Luke and Warren from a distance who where swimming hard, trying to win their race. Luke was before Warren now and they were close to the finish line.

"Looks like your guy is wining this one."

"I don't see any good coming out of this, because I'm sure that after this one they'll try again and they will be so close they start fighting about who's winning. Sometimes I'm really glad I'm a woman so I don't have to do things like that."

"Me too."

As Lorelai predicted Luke won and they wanted to do a best out of three.

Lorelai sat down next to Rory. "But it is nice around here. I can see why Luke's parents loved to take him and Liz here. I can see Luke and I taking our kids here for a long time. I sat here yesterday evening on the porch and I could see Lucan playing there on the grass with his ball and his little sister was picking flowers. I'm not sure if he'll ever have that little sister though."

"Oh mom, he probably will. Luke just freaked out because he's Luke, but I'm sure that once you talked to doctor Elder he changes his mind and then you can have that little daughter. And if you don't, you'll always have me."

"Yeah I will. I already have the most amazing daughter in the world, and I have that amazing boy you're holding there. Somehow it feels selfish that I want another one. What if Luke is right and something goes wrong? I have the perfect family now."

"But your dream mom. The one you had in London. You just want that to come true and I understand that."

"I know but still I…" She was interrupted when she heard the guys fighting.

"I was first. You were at least a feet behind me."

"No way, you were first. You were at least a meter behind me."

"Hell no."

"Uhuh."

Lorelai shook her head. "Told you this was going to happen. She stood up, walked to the

barbecue and took out the bottle. She shook the bottle and let some milk drip on her wrist.

"Perfect." She handed the bottle to Rory. "If you give this to this little baby, I'll take care of those two big babies of there."

Rory smiled. "Sure."

Lorelai stood up and walked to the dock. "What is this all about?"

The guys swam towards her. "I was first and he doesn't want to admit it." Luke said.

"No. I was first."

"Did you see who was first?" Luke grabbed the dock and pulled himself up, sitting down next to Lorelai.

"No I didn't see anything, and honestly I don't care either. Who cares who won? You are both good. You both won once and obviously this was so tight you were equal so you both won. Problem solved. You're acting like small children. Even Lucan acts more grown up than you two right now. I told you not to fight."

Luke looked a little ashamed. "She's right. You are very good."

"You too."

Luke stood up and leaned forward, extending his hand towards Warren which he gratefully took. Then Luke pulled him up on the dock. "Friends?"

"Friends."

"Good. That's what I wanted to hear. Let's get you dry. Rory's feeding Lucan and after that we can change and maybe go out for dinner?"

"Sounds good. We have to drive for a little while, but I know a few good places around here, if they are still here of course. It's been a while since I've been here."

"I'm sure we'll find something."

-xxxxxx-

They arrived back at the cabin around 9. They had dinner at a nice small restaurant in the closest town. The restaurant had been there for almost 40 years. Even though the daughter of the owners had taken it over it looked still the same and the food was just as good as Luke remembered it was.

Lorelai went inside to put Lucan to bed, while Luke and Warren walked into the forest to find some wood to make a camp fire. On the way back from the restaurant they had stopped at a store and bought some beer.

Rory followed Lorelai inside and watched how her mother took care of the baby. "I wish I could remember being this small. It's really hard to believe I ever was this small, but it would have been nice to remember what it was like you know?"

Lorelai looked up. "I still remember. It wasn't always easy but you were the most amazing baby and that really helped. Moments like this were the best. Right before I took you to bed. You were all fed and satisfied and I would change you in your pajamas and we would sit on my bed and I would read you a story or sing a song and it was just the two of us."

"Sounds great. Do you do it with him now?"

"Sometimes. But it's different now. Luke takes him to bed half the time, and often we haven't eaten yet when I take him to bed so we just put him to sleep and then go downstairs to eat."

"To bad. It sounds like he's missing something."

"Yeah he is. You're right you know. I should take some more time to do things like that. Even though he won't remember it, it will be nice to tell him one day that I did that for him. Just the look you're giving me when I tell you things like that is enough to know how much it means, no matter if you remember it or not."

"And you will always remember."

"Absolutely." Lorelai took of Lucan's dirty diaper and replaced it with a new one. Than she took of his t-shirt and replaced it with a clean one. "All set."

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To yours and Luke's room."

Lorelai smiled, knowing exactly what her daughter was talking about. Since she didn't have a book, they sang a few lullabies. Lucan was getting sleepier while Lorelai and Rory sang together.

-xxxxxx-

Luke and Warren had a whole pile of wood laying in front of the cabin and started a small fire. They put some chairs around it and Luke handed Warren a beer. "I'm going to see what's taking the woman so long okay?"

"Sure. I'll keep an eye on the fire."

"It should be okay for a while. Put on some more wood if you think it's necessary."

"I will."

Luke walked inside and heard voices in the master bedroom. He walked towards the room slowly and glanced inside. Lorelai was sitting in the middle of the bed, her arm around Rory who was leaning against her side, and Lucan was in her lap, looking as if he was almost falling asleep. Both Lorelai and Rory were singing. He smiled at the sight in front of him and turned around, carefully not to make any sound. He walked back outside and sat down next to Warren, grabbing a beer from the cooler.

"What's taking them so long?"

"They'll be here soon. The baby is almost asleep."

Warren nodded. "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry about earlier today, with the swimming."

"Don't mention it. We were both childish. I guess we just have to stay away from games like that and then we'll be just fine."

"Yeah. I agree."

"So, how was your first week at school?"

"A lot of introduction meetings. I met so many people I doubt that I'll remember a single name. But it seems really nice and I think I will really enjoy this."

"Good."

They talked for a while before Lorelai and Rory joined them, each getting themselves a beer as well. Lorelai sat down next to Luke and Rory next to Warren. They stared into the fire and talked, sipping their beer occasionally. The time passed fast and when Rory checked her watch it was 1.30 already. "Wow, it's really late. I think we should go to bed if we want to go hiking tomorrow."

Both Rory and Warren stood up, putting the empty beer bottles back into the cooler. "We'll be there soon. We can't use the bathroom all at the same time anyway."

Rory nodded. "Goodnight."

"Night."

Lorelai watched how her daughter and Warren walked inside the cabin, then turned to face Luke. "You have no idea how much this weekend means to me."

"I think I have a pretty good idea. You deserved it and it's going really well, besides from that little swim incident where I feel very responsible for."

"You should." She smiled. "I can't thank you enough for this Luke. I was just acting so stupid and even though this is only a weekend, I feel like it somehow makes up for the lost summer. It's kind of hard to think that every day could have been like that if I wasn't acting so stupid, but like I told Rory earlier, what's done is done, and we can only change the future. And this weekend was an amazing first step and it's really sad there's only one day left."

"But we'll come back here next month. And we can try to pick a weekend when Rory and Warren are able to join us. And they might not always, but than we still spend time as a family, completely away from the nosiness of the town and the rush of work."

"Yeah. You know, we really have to spend more time together. Rory asked me what it was like when she was a baby and I told her that every night before I put her to sleep, I changed her into her pajamas and took her on my bed and read her a story or sang her a few songs. Then she asked me if I did the same for Lucan and I had to say no. I not once did that. And I was thinking what kind of special things I've been doing with him and really I can't think of anything. It's like we just squeezed a kid into our lives and spend some time with him if we can, but since he's never asking for attention we just leave him playing in his stroller or his playpen and don't give him the attention he deserves. Not the way I used to with Rory. And that makes me feel really bad."

"But we're trying Lorelai. And we have moments with him. Like every day after breakfast you sit down on the couch with him and play with him. And I do the same when I'm the one taking him out of bed."

"But that's only one moment. Only a few minutes."

"But it are his minutes. And I saw you started the bed routine, too."

"You saw that?"

"I went inside to see what was taking you so long so I heard sounds coming from the bedroom and I saw you and Rory and Lucan on the bed. And you were singing."

"You so did not have to hear that."

"It wasn't that bad. It looked really nice actually. Even if it's just a few minutes, we should do that. Whoever takes him to bed spends a few minutes with him. Reading to him, singing to him. It sounds really nice."

"You want to sing?"

"I can you know. Just promise to keep it between you and me."

"You know I have to tell Rory right?"

"Yeah I do but make sure you let her know she keeps it to herself. I don't want the whole town to know I'm one of those fathers who sings his son to sleep."

"Why not, it's really cute?"

"Exactly."

Lorelai smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. "Let's get to bed huh? Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Our son was in bed at a normal time so he'll be up again early and we have to walk all day. But at least we'll be having a picnic."

"Yeah we will. I'm really sorry I didn't tell you before, Lorelai."

"I know. It would be nice to hear stories about you when you were little more often, but I know that it's hard for you to talk about it. Just tell me a few stories once in a while, okay? Whenever you feel like it."

"I promise."

"Good." Lorelai kissed him again, then stood up and took his hand in hers, leading him towards the cabin.


	4. The talk

_A/N: Well, another chapter, finally :D You're all very curious what is going to happen, and really want Lorelai and Luke to have another kid. At least in this chapter they will make a decision, and what will happen after that will be kept secret for a while, until it shows up in the chapters. There is a plan, that's all I'm going to tell you. Of course I'm even completely sure myself how it will all turn out, but we'll see within time._

_Normally I don't comment reviews, although of course I appreciate all of them, no matter what you say. Early, late, whatever. I love to hear what you all think of my story and really appreciate that you take the time to tell me this. Anyway: J. Stone. Get over it! It's what the boy is named and I can't change it. Too bad you don't like it, but there isn't anything I can do about it now, whether I wanted to or not. All you can do is learn to live with it ;) So does he :P_

_And of course thanks to my wonderful beta for proofreading, and it doesn't matter, happens to all of us:D_

**Chapter 4 The talk**

Lorelai didn't sleep very well that night. She was nervous about the doctor's appointment. After today Luke and she would decide whether they wanted to have another child or not. Everything depended on what doctor Elder had to say. The morning after they came back from the cabin, Lorelai called Doctor Elder and managed to get an appointment for the next day. There was an opening in the doctor's schedule, and they understood that this was important.

Luke looked at his wife, knowing how nervous she was. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For putting you through this."

"Don't be. I understand Luke. I want this for us, and for our family, so don't worry about it."

He nodded, not quite sure if she was really okay with this, but at least happy that she understood that this was important for him.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let me get my jacket. You go put Lucan in his car seat."

"We don't have to take him you know. We can bring him to your mother, or I'm sure that

Sookie would be happy to look after him."

"I know, but he won't be any trouble. Plus, I'm sure that the doctor would love to see what he looks like now. It's been months since she saw him."

"Okay."

The drive to the clinic was quiet. Both Luke and Lorelai were lost in their own thoughts, thinking how this conversation could affect their lives. Since there wasn't much traffic on the road, it didn't take them long to get there. They were almost 20 minutes early for the appointment. As soon as Luke parked the car, Lorelai stepped out and took Lucan out of the backseat. Luke closed his eyes and sighed, and then got out of the car as well. He walked to Lorelai, who had just closed the back door and held Lucan's car seat in her right hand. He grabbed her left hand and squeezed it. They walked into the building together, hand in hand.

Lorelai signed them in, while Luke sat down with Lucan in the waiting room. They had to wait almost half an hour before Doctor Elder called them into her office.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She said, after they all shook hands. "Look at that boy. He's gotten so big."

"Yeah. He's growing so fast. But that gives me a reason to go shopping very often because he needs new clothes again. And as long as it is for his son, Luke here is okay with it and some of the time I can even convince him to go with me." It didn't happen much lately, but Lorelai didn't felt like telling that. Plus, they didn't come for small talk.

"I bet you can. So, what brings you into my office? My assistant didn't write it down very clearly, so I am a little curious."

Lorelai glanced at Luke and immediately noticed that he didn't feel like telling the story, so she started. "Luke and I have been talking about having another child. Actually, a few months ago I though I was pregnant, but it turned out to be a false alarm. Since Lucan was not even four months old at the time, we decided it was too soon to have another child, but we're both getting older and we don't want to wait too long."

"I see." Doctor Elder nodded.

"A few days ago I told Luke that I was ready to try, but he is a little worried about the risks of a pregnancy for a woman of my age. He saw some kind of TV show about a woman who died during child birth and left the father alone to raise the baby. And now he's afraid something like that could happen to me."

"I understand your concerns. Every pregnancy brings its own risks, but there are two risk groups. The first group includes teenagers and the second group includes woman over the age of 35. The risks don't depend on how many pregnancies you have had, and if they were without complications or not. The risks are the same for every pregnancy. First of all, the chance of getting pregnant is lower than when you are younger. The chance of getting pregnant normally is about 20. After you turn 35, that chance is only 10. And we say that the older you get, the lower the chances of getting pregnant are. Second, the chances of getting a child with birth defects are higher. The most common handicap is down syndrome. When a 20 year old woman gets pregnant, the risk of getting a child with down syndrome is 1 of 1500. When you turn 35 the risk is 1 of 300 and when you turn 40 that risk is 1 of 100."

Luke and Lorelai nodded and tried to process all the information. "How would we know?"

"You don't know for sure if your child is healthy or not, until you are pregnant. There are tests we can do during the pregnancy to see if the child has a chromosome defect. There are two sorts of tests, and the first one can be done at 11 weeks and the second one at 16 weeks."

"What if the tests show that the baby has a defect?"

"That would be your decision. There are two options. The first one is to end the pregnancy. When you choose to take the first test, an abortion is a possibility, if you take the other test at 16 weeks, the only option is to go into premature delivery. Of course the child would be too young to survive. The second option is to carry the pregnancy to full term and let the baby get born, of course with disabilities. It's impossible to see how severe the disabilities are. But because the child will have a chromosome to many, it won't be normal. Most of the time, there are mental problems, but it's possible the child has physical problems as well."

She paused to make sure Luke and Lorelai could process all the information.

"What are the risks of those tests?" Luke asked.

"There is a small chance of a miscarriage. But that chance is actually smaller than the normal risks of getting a miscarriage. With both test, we go with a needle into your uterus. With the first test, we take a tissue sample of the placenta. With the second test we take a sample of the amniotic fluid. The risk of getting a miscarriage is a little lower than with the first test. If you decide to have a child and you get pregnant we will discuss the tests and the options."

"Like we did when I was pregnant with Lucan?"

"Yes. We discussed it then, and we will do it again. That you decided not to take the test then doesn't mean you don't want it this time. But I don't think we should focus our attention on this now."

"I agree. So, the chances of me getting pregnant are lower and the chances of getting a child with down syndrome is higher. But how about the chances of getting a healthy child?"

"The chances of getting a healthy child are much higher. However, the risks are there and you have to decide if you are willing to take the risks and what will happen to you and your family if you get a child with down syndrome or another disability. Even though those chances are slim, they could affect your life and that of your family drastically."

"But I have two healthy kids, and I had no problem at all getting pregnant since they both weren't planned. And everything turned out just fine, with the both of them."

"I understand, but like I said before, earlier pregnancies have nothing to do with the risks. The chances of getting pregnant are the same for everyone, whether you have one or more children or you have no child yet. However, one woman is more fertile than the other so the chances of getting pregnant could be higher than those of another woman of your age. But it's impossible to predict what is going to happen. And the same goes for the risks of getting a child with a birth defect. The earlier pregnancies have nothing to do with the risks you have now."

"How about the chances of going into premature labor?"

"Since you got premature contractions when you were pregnant with Lucan, we will be monitoring you extra carefully. Also, the risks of going into premature labor are a little higher than when you are younger. Plus, one thing I haven't mentioned yet, is that the chance of getting twins is bigger too when you get older, and with twins the risks of going into premature labor are higher as well."

Lorelai smiled as she thought about the dream she once had. Then she turned to Luke and tried to read the expression on his face. She could see that he was thinking and processing. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. Then she looked at the car seat in the chair next to her. Lucan was awake and was playing with one of his toys. She smiled and turned her attention back to Doctor Elder.

"I know it is a lot of information to process, and a lot of things you have to consider while making this choice. Do you have any questions so far?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Not really. From the way I see it there is no way to see what is going to happen until I'm pregnant, if we decide to take one of those tests, or until after that if we don't."

"That's right."

"Then there's nothing else I need to know. Luke?" She looked at her husband who was still lost in his thoughts. "Luke?" She said a little louder, trying to get his attention.

"What? Sorry. What was the question?"

"Do you have any questions?"

"What are the risks for Lorelai?"

"Every pregnancy brings its own risks, for the child as well for the mother. These risks aren't very high, but there is always the chance that something goes wrong. Complications during childbirth are rare, but happen every day."

"Just like every day healthy babies are born and both mother and child live happily ever after. Right?"

"That's right. The chances that everything goes right are much higher than that something goes wrong. It's hard to give you numbers about this, and I understand that you'd like me to tell you what to do but I can't. This is a decision the two of you have to make together and all I can do is share my knowledge, but you are the ones who have to make the decision, I can't do that for you. I'm sorry."

"I understand." Luke nodded. "I don't expect you to do that. You've been really helpful already and I guess Lorelai and I have to do the rest."

"That's right. Do you have any other questions?"

No, I can't think of anything."

"Okay. Then I wish you good luck with making this decision, and if you have any questions, you can always call me."

"Thank you." Lorelai stood up, ready to leave and to go home and discuss everything with Luke.

He followed her example and stood up as well, shaking doctor Elder's hand. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." She watched Lorelai picking up Lucan's car seat. "He really looks like you Luke."

"That's what everybody else says. But he's definitely Lorelai's son as well. No matter how small he is, it's very obvious."

Doctor Elder smiled. "Good luck."

"Thanks." And with that they left the office.

-xxxxxx-

The drive back home was quiet as well. Both Luke and Lorelai were processing the information they got earlier and tried to find out where they were standing now. When they arrived home, they gave Lucan a bottle, and then put him to bed afterwards. They had both taken the day off which had caused a lot of complains from their staff, but they didn't care. Lorelai walked back downstairs and saw Luke sitting on the couch, their lunch in front of them on the coffee table. She sat down next to him. "Hey."

"Hey. Did he give you any trouble?"

"Nah, he was beat. Slept even before I left the room."

"Good, good. I made you a sandwich."

"Thanks." She took the plate that was standing in front of her from the table, took her sandwich in her hand and took a bite. After she swallowed she said. "Wow, this is really good. What is it?"

"Grilled chicken. New recipe."

"It's really good. You should introduce it on your menu."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." Their small talk continued until both of them finished their lunch. After that Lorelai couldn't take it anymore. "Tell me what you think Luke."

"It's hard Lorelai. I'm not sure what I think yet. From the way she makes it sound the risks aren't that high, but what if something goes wrong? What if we are with the one percent who gets a kid with down syndrome? What would that do to our family Lorelai?"

"I don't know. We talked about this when I was pregnant with Lucan and we decided that the test didn't matter, that we would love our child no matter what."

"I know. But we have him now. How will this affect him?"

"I don't know Luke. But from the way I see it there's a much bigger chance that he gets a healthy brother or sister he can grow up with. Wouldn't that be nice? The age difference wouldn't be that big so they can really grow up together. When I was younger I thought it was great to have a younger brother or sister, and Rory asked me about it so many times when she was younger too."

"I just have to think about it okay?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that something bad is going to happen. I thought that Doctor Elder could take away my doubts, and she partially did, but not completely. I'm just not sure if it's worth the risks."

"Even if they are this low?"

"Even then. I know you really want this, and I'd love to have another kid too, but like I told you this Saturday, I don't want to sacrifice everything, because that would be selfish."

She tried hard to understand why he was feeling this way, but she simply couldn't. She was a little afraid herself, but from the way Doctor Elder put it, the chances of something going wrong were very low and there was a big chance they would get another healthy child, and then their family would be perfect. Not that it wasn't already perfect now, but then it would be really perfect.

Luke knew how much Lorelai wanted this and he wanted to tell her that he was okay with it, that he was willing to take the risks. But he wasn't sure. He was scared. Scared something could harm his family and he felt selfish for wanting to take even the smallest risk for doing so. In his eyes this decision wasn't as simple as Lorelai thought it was. But if he was one for taking chances, he would have asked her out long before he did and who knows where they would be right now if he had. But he didn't and he got what he wanted without taking a big risk. When he finally asked her out he knew for sure that she was on the same page. It wasn't until Jason showed up at the Dragonfly he started doubting himself. And he never really took any risks in his life. When he started a business he did the only thing he knew how to do, and wasn't afraid of failing. There wasn't a diner in Stars Hallow and he knew people would like one. And he was right. And every other decision he made in his life, didn't inquire taking risks. Every decision he made, he made out of certainty, and it terrified him that he didn't have any certainty now and his instinct was to run away from the problem. But he promised Lorelai that he would talk to her, like she had promised him. So they had to stay here, together and talk about this, and hopefully come to a decision they could both live with. But he doubted if it was possible.

"What are you thinking Luke?"

"I'm thinking about the things we know for certain. And I'm not sure if there are things we do know in this situation."

"But we do Luke."

"What? We don't know anything for sure. First of all, we don't know if you even can get pregnant, and second we don't know if we get a healthy child until it's born, unless we're willing to take one of these test."

"I know that I love you."

"That has nothing to do with this, and you know it. This isn't about love, this is about what's best for us, and our family."

"It's about a child Luke. We don't know anything for certain in life. There are only a few things in life we can count on, and even then we're not sure how long they last. And that must come out very weird out of my mouth, but I thought about this a lot and I think we're back to letting fear come to us. I thought that this meeting was about getting rid of the fear?"

"It was, but it's still there Lorelai. I know you want me to make a decision right now, but I can't. I have to think about this and I know that you've made up your mind but I haven't."

"So you want to think about this yourself?"

"Yes… No… Yes, I do. I know I promised you that we would talk about everything together and that we wouldn't walk away anymore, but I really need to think about this on my own for a while."

"I understand. Why don't you go fishing or something, it helps you to relax and it's quiet so you have all the time to think."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"Good. Then I think I'm going to pay my mom a visit. It's been forever since I had a day off and went to her for a visit. During Friday night dinners I don't get a chance to really talk to her, and it's different over the phone. It's not like I want to talk about this or anything, but I just want to see how she's doing."

"Sounds good. How about we meet back here for dinner, lets say around 7?"

"Sounds like a plan."

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai rang the doorbell and was surprised to see Emily open the door herself. "Lorelai, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come by for a cup of coffee, mom."

"Where you in the neighborhood?"

"No. I took the day off and was at home and thought, how is my mom doing? And since I couldn't guess I figured I'd better ask you yourself."

"You could have called."

"Yes, I could have, but then you wouldn't have seen your grandson."

Emily smiled and it was as if it was the first time she noticed Lorelai had Lucan with her. "Come in, come in. I didn't want to be rude."

"I know mom." Lorelai stepped inside and followed her mother into the living room. "So, how have you been doing lately mom?"

"Just fine Lorelai. So, how was your weekend away? Rory told me that you were going to Luke's cabin."

"It was really great. I spend Friday there with Luke and it was really nice to have some time alone with him, although I missed Lucan a lot. It was the first time he didn't spend the night under the same roof as Luke and I, and that was pretty hard. But he had a great time with Rory of course, so I was worried about nothing. And they came to the cabin Saturday morning and we stayed there until Sunday evening. We went out for dinner and drove home after that. It was great to finally spend some time with Rory. We talked about a lot of things when the guys were doing guy things together and we also spend a lot of time as a family. We should have done it earlier."

"I'm glad to hear that everything went well. And you're right, you should have done it earlier."

"I was so stupid mom. If it weren't for you I probably still hadn't realized what I was doing, or that what I was doing was wrong. I never got to thank you for that, did I?"

"You did in your own way Lorelai." Emily smiled to her daughter. "So, what else is wrong?"

Lorelai felt caught. Now she was getting closer to her mother, Emily knew exactly when something was bothering her, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Maybe that was a problem. "Nothing is wrong mom."

"Don't lie to me Lorelai, I know when something's up, and something is up. Tell me about it."

"After we came back from London, I told you about getting light food poisoning from the food in Rory's cafeteria right?"

"Yes. Both you and Rory were sick for a day, but after that it was over. You told me that."

"I didn't tell you the entire story." Lorelai sighed. "I was having weird moods for a while. I was acting very emotional towards everything, and then with the throwing up I thought that I was pregnant."

"Oh…" Emily didn't see that one coming.

"I freaked out and talked to Luke and together we decided that it would be okay and that we could handle it together. He bought me a pregnancy test, but while we were waiting for the results Rory called me and told me about the bad meat. And then the test was negative so I wasn't pregnant." She closed her eyes for a while, then opened them before continuing. "Between throwing up and the test results I had a dream about a baby. I was in the hospital, all alone, holding a baby girl. She looked just like Rory when she was born, only I looked the same I look now. I felt lonely, but than Luke walked in and then Rory and Lucan and we were all happy. And I thought that would be what my family would be like. Perfect, you know?"

"You can still get that right?"

"That's what Luke and I decided, but when I brought it up this weekend he said he changed his mind. He thinks the risks are too high and is not willing to take them. We went to see my gynecologist this morning and she explained the risks, and even though they are not high, Luke is still not willing to take them."

"So now what?"

"I don't know mom. I really want to have another child, but maybe Luke is right. Maybe the risks are too high."

"Maybe he's just scared."

"Oh he is. But fear isn't the right thing to base a decision on right? I'm not sure what to do mom. I send him fishing to give him time to think, and I came here hoping I could clear my head, but it's not really working so far."

"I'm sure you and Luke know what the right decision is Lorelai. You just have to trust your instinct and forget about everything else."

"Look who's talking." Lorelai smiled.

"I've been afraid too much lately Lorelai, and I decided that it's enough."

"Afraid about what?" This was something Lorelai hadn't heard before and she got worried right away.

"You know what happened after the accident. I thought I was going to die, but fortunately it turned out to be a panic attack."

"But that only happened once."

"No it didn't. I was so afraid it was going to happen again, I got another panic attack. Only this time I knew what it was and your father was there to help me."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You had enough to deal with Lorelai. And I didn't think it mattered."

"But it does to me mom. Everything that involves you matters to me. Why do you think that the only thing I have been doing regularly over the summer is calling you? Because I care mom. Things have changed between you and me, in a good way, and I care about how you are doing and what you are feeling. We could have talked about it."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"How about those nightmares? The day we came back from London you mentioned having those."

"I mentioned that they stopped. I don't have them anymore. I had some help, especially after that second panic attack. I was having nightmares about the accident and about dying and I was scared that it would happen again. But I know now that it was an accident and I was lucky and that I have to move on with my life and have to stop being afraid. When I realized that, the nightmares stopped and I wasn't afraid to step into a car again. I didn't feel my heart beating in my throat all the time when I sat in a car, I slowly learned to relax again. It will never be the same, but I can't let fear control my life."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For telling me the truth, and for telling me exactly what I needed to hear right now. I think I know how I can solve this problem now. Thanks mom."

Even though Emily didn't know what she did she was proud that she had helped her daughter. "Do you want to go home now, or do you have some time for coffee?"

"I always have time for coffee mom."

-xxxxxx-

Luke put extra effort into dinner, because he knew he made today extra hard on Lorelai. He felt guilty that he needed time alone to think. While Luke cooked dinner, Lorelai fed Lucan, read him a story and put him to bed. By the time she came back downstairs, Luke had dinner served on the table.

"Smells good. What is it?"

"Steak, steamed vegetables and baked potatoes."

"Vegetables?" She lifted her nose.

"Don't give me that look. Try them first before you judge it. We will have a big problem if our son gets a little bigger and you refuse to eat any healthy food, he will do exactly the same."

"You don't know that. Plus, Rory grew up just fine."

"Except for her bad eating habits, just like yours. Just give it a try okay?"

"Fine." She didn't felt like fighting over food and she knew he tried really hard to make this a good meal. "What's that over the vegetables?" She asked when he filled her plate.

"Sauce. I figured you wouldn't eat them the normal way, but this way you won't even really taste them."

She smiled at the fact that he knew her so well. And when she tasted she had to admit that it was really good. "You're right, they are not so bad as I thought."

"Figured."

"Soo……" She started, not sure if she should push it.

"Soo…." He repeated.

"I talked to my mom, and I know that I promised not to mention anything but she totally saw through me and new something was up, so I told her anyway. I'm sorry Luke, I hope you're not mad."

"I'm not mad. What did she say?"

"That we have to forget about all the facts and make these decision by following our instincts. And then the conversation led to her accident and how afraid she was after that. She had nightmares about the accident and was afraid to get into a car. After that panic attack she had in our house that day, she had another one. My dad was there and he helped her so it wasn't so bad, but she still had one, and I didn't know. Anyway, she talked to someone and realized that she can't let fear control her life."

Luke nodded.

"Don't you see? That's exactly what we are doing here. Even though we promised each other we wouldn't, we are. Fear is controlling this decision even though we both know what we want. I can't talk for you, but I'll tell you what I want. I really want to have another kid Luke. Not that our family is not perfect already, but it doesn't feel complete. Maybe my dream is a part of it, but all I know is that I feel this way and I know that if we get another kid, that it would feel finished. I don't care about the risks, because in my heart I know that this is okay. That we will get a healthy kid, and about those facts and statistics, I have a feeling that everything will be okay and that we will get a healthy baby girl, or boy, not sure about that part of the feeling yet, but it will be healthy and it will make our family complete. And I…"

He put a finger on her lips to silence her. "Can I speak now?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Good. I've been thinking this afternoon, just like I promised I would, and I decided that I never took any chances in my life, not big ones anyway. But what I certainly never did was taking a decision out of fear. I thought about my dad and how he was afraid to move on after my mother died. I know it's totally different, but he was never happy again. My mother wouldn't have wanted him to live his life like that, but he did. And I don't want to be my father. I know that I look like him in many ways, but in that way I don't want to be like him. I want to be like my mother. My mother wasn't afraid of anything. Even when she got sick, she still wasn't afraid, or at least never showed it to me or Liz. She was the strongest person I've ever known, besides you."

Lorelai smiled.

"I just wanted to say that I'm ready now. I know that there are risks, but I'm willing to take them, because how will Lucan turn out if we're too afraid to take any chances? He will be one of those kids like Bradley. You remember Bradley?"

"How can anyone forget about Bradley." She smiled and suddenly realized what he just told her. "Did you just say that you want another kid?"

"I want nothing more than to have another kid. I'm so sorry for everything I put you through the last few days Lorelai."

"Don't be. I understand. You remember what I said in London?"

"Not really?" He said, unsure where she was getting at.

"When I thought I was pregnant I said that I thought it would be different the next time, that we would plan it. And if this isn't planning, than I'm not sure what planning is. We both know that we want this now, and this is what I wanted. Of course an easy, let's start trying would have been okay, but now we both know where we stand and that feels really good."

"So you're not mad at me?"

"No, Luke, of course not. I told you many times that I was not mad at you. I understand and it's okay."

"So we're going to have another kid?" He had to check.

"Yeah." Her smile couldn't have gotten any bigger, and her eyes any shinier as she said those words. Then suddenly she stood up. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Come with me."

"But…."

"Come on Luke." She took his hand in hers and pulled him up. He had no choice but to follow her. They walked upstairs to the bathroom.

"What are we doing here?"

She opened the medicine cabinet and took out the strip of pills she was using at the moment.

"What are you doing?"

She threw them into the garbage. "There, now it's official."

"Can you just do that?"

"I was almost at the end. I had 3 more pills left so it doesn't really matters. I will have my period in a few days and then after a week, we can officially try."

With a big grin on his face he pulled her towards him. "How about practicing?"

"I don't think we need any practicing. We're pretty good." She kissed him anyway.

He didn't say anything, instead he just pulled her into their bedroom.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai woke up around 2 o'clock and had trouble falling back to sleep. She looked at Luke and smiled. He looked happy, even in his sleep. She caressed his cheek with her hand. then moved forward to place a kiss on his lips. She laid her head back on her pillow and kept watching him. It didn't take long until he woke up and with a gruff voice he said "stop watching me."

"Sorry, I can't help it."

"Why are you awake anyway? It's the middle of the night."

"I couldn't sleep."

"Why not?"

"I had the same dream again. The one I had in London. It went on a little longer than the last time though. You came to take me home. You all came to take me and our baby girl home. That's when I woke up, because I started thinking, how are we going to put a baby in this house Luke?"

"You think about that in the middle of the night?"

"Can't help it. I woke up thinking about it, and I think it's a big problem. We were lucky to have on spare bedroom for Lucan, but we're out of rooms in this house now. The crap shack isn't that big."

"You're not even pregnant yet. We have enough time to talk about this."

"I know, but I thought about it and it just kept me awake you know? I mean, we could give the baby Rory's room, but I don't want Rory to feel that she's unwelcome, and she still uses her room on the weekends. Not every weekend, but still. I don't want her to feel that she is being replaced or something."

"We're not going to give the baby Rory's room Lorelai. We can see if somewhere in Stars Hallow there is a house for sale that we both like, and if you really don't want to leave this house or we don't find anything we like, we can stay here and build an extra room for the baby. But there is a lot of time so we don't have to discuss this at 2 in the morning. Go back to sleep."

She yawned. "I am kind of tired. All that practicing wore me out."

"Oh, I thought it was having all those thoughts hurting your brain in the middle of the night, but hey, at least you give me the credit."

"I'm not at all giving you the credit. Plus, why would you be proud at getting me tired anyway?"

"Never mind, Lorelai. Go back to sleep."

"Fine." She leaned over him to kiss him, then laid her head on his shoulder, and it didn't take long, before she fell back asleep, having another dream about the new baby.


	5. Not too happy

_A/N: Previously on the whole package Luke and Lorelai went to dr. Elder to talk about the risks of having another kid, and decided that they want to take the risk to get their family complete. This chapter jumps two months in time._  
_Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed. I said it before, and I'll say it again, I love to hear how you feel about my chapters so I can use your comments in my next chapters. And of course thanks for the wonderful feedback of my beta LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict, as you can see I changed what you said! Thanks you so much!  
__Now, all enjoy reading this chapter and don't forget to let me know your thoughts!_

**Chapter 5 Not too happy **

Two months had passed since Luke and Lorelai decided they wanted to have another kid. Both Warren and Rory were doing very well in school and Luke and Lorelai weren't as busy anymore now that the summer season was finally over. The fall had started of roughly. Heavy rainfall and cold temperatures made tourists wanting to stay home. But Lorelai came up with a fall program to keep her guests busy and this way she was able to keep Claire, although she wasn't sure if she could keep her forever.

Both Luke and Lorelai spend more time with Lucan now. They take extra time before they put him to bed, and while Luke is cooking dinner, Lorelai spend some time playing with her son. Since their jobs were calmer, they decided to go back to Friday night dinners every week, much to the pleasure of Emily.

Luke looked up when Lorelai walked into the diner. He couldn't help but notice that she looked somehow sad. He turned around and made sure he had a cup of coffee standing on the counter before she had the time to sit down at one of the stools. "Hey." He smiled as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Hey." She responded.

It was not hard for Luke to recognize the sad tone in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just tired."

"I don't believe that."

"Let it go, okay?"

"Lorelai." He sighed and took her hand in his, and was happy she walked in while the diner was completely empty. Lunch rush was over and it was too early for dinner rush. Realizing that he realized it was too early for her to be off from work. "Why are you off so early?"

"There wasn't anything left to do, so I figured Michel and Claire could handle things on their own for the last hour and a half."

"Good, good."

"Where's Lucan?"

"He's still asleep. Now that he's starting to crawl he's using a lot of energy. Around eleven it was really quiet so I took him out of the playpen and let him crawl around the diner for a while. After he got tired I made him lunch and put him to bed. He's still sleeping."

Lorelai smiled. "He's pretty good at the crawling thing isn't he?"

"He's getting better every time." Luke smiled too.

Lorelai sipped her coffee. "I need to use the bathroom." She picked up her purse.

"You can leave your purse here, you don't need it."

"Yeah I do."

"Oh… okay." He watched her walk away and tried to think of a reason why she would need her purse while going to the toilet. First he thought she was going to use her cell phone, but he knew that since there was no-one in the diner, she would just use it there, or use the diner phone instead. It took him a few minutes to realize why she needed her purse and suddenly he understood her mood a lot better. He waited patiently for her to come back, and when she sat

back down at the counter, he took her hand in his again. "I'm sorry Lorelai."

"For what?"

"That it didn't work this month. But it's only the second month so you don't have to worry."

She sighed. He knew her too well. "But what if something is wrong? What if I can't get pregnant?"

"Two months Lorelai. Only two months. Let's wait a few months before we start drawing conclusions okay?"

"But with Rory and with Lucan, I was pregnant so soon. I just got pregnant while messing up birth control, so I thought that when I stopped using any, I would be pregnant real soon."

"You have to be patient. We have to be patient. Of course I'm really sad that you're not pregnant right now either, but we have time. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. I promise."

"I know that. And I feel stupid for being in this mood. I drove Michel crazy all day, and the same goes for Claire and Sookie. There was enough work for me to do, but they sent me away."

He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Don't expect too much every month okay? It happens when the timing is right."

"How very dr. Phil of you."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't really have any experience with this, since the only experience I have is Lucan and we didn't really plan on having him, but I read this book and it said that it's normal that it takes a few months before you get pregnant, and I just don't want you to be disappointed every month."

"You read another book? I'm shocked." She loved mocking his reading, although she realized he was reading quite a lot.

"Oh shut up." Fortunately for him the diner bells rang so he had customers to attend to. At the same time they heard Lucan's voice through the baby monitor so while Luke went to his customers, Lorelai went upstairs to get their son.

When Lorelai walked into the apartment upstairs she walked straight to her son's bed, which was standing in the corned where Luke's bed used to be. She noticed his face was bright red and thought it was from the crying. That was until she picked him up and noticed his body temperature was hot. She cuddled her son to her chest and tried to sooth him. It was obvious he wasn't feeling well, and she wondered why Luke didn't mention anything about this. The little boy kept crying so she sat down on the couch, cuddling the baby close.

"Hey baby, what's this?" She talked in a soothing voice, trying to calm her son down.

"You've never been sick before, have you? That must be really hard, being sick for the very first time."

As if the baby understood he started hiccupping. It was obvious he was feeling very sorry for himself. Lorelai had to smile at this.

"Mommy's going to take good care of you. Let stupid Michel handle the Inn alone for a few days huh. That will teach him not to send me away." She kissed the baby's forehead and once again noticed his hot temperature. She started wondering how hot he was but figured Luke didn't have a thermometer lying around. She had to take her sick baby home.

She stood up, walking to the changing table and picked up Lucan's jacket. She figured that she could change him at home, since she had to take his temperature. She walked downstairs and was greeted by a surprised Luke.

"What's wrong?"

"Our little boy is sick."

Luke's expression immediately turned worried. "What?"

"He's burning up, and his airways are full. I'm going to take him home, take his temperature and see if he wants to eat something. I'm sure he will fall back asleep real soon."

"He wasn't like this when I put him to bed. How did this change so fast?"

"Kids get sick, Luke. Don't work yourself up over this. Coming to think of it, he was starting to cough a little earlier, so I guess it got out now."

"But he never got sick before."

She smiled. "There's a first time for everything."

"We should take him to the doctor."

"Let's see how he's doing first okay? Do you think Caesar can handle the diner alone for a while?"

"Yeah I guess so, why?"

"I was wondering if you could go the pharmacy for me; pick up some baby Tylenol and some baby nose spray. And ask if they have something for the coughing too. And if he's not getting any better by tomorrow, then we'll take him to the doctor."

"Okay. I'm going there right away and meet you at home in a few minutes okay?"

"Thanks. And Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't rush okay. We don't want you to get into an accident or something. It's just a simple cold, like we all had many times."

He nodded, although not completely convinced. It was easy for Lorelai to say not to be worried, but his baby son was sick, and it was very obvious the little boy wasn't feeling well. Even though he wasn't crying anymore, he was still hiccupping once in a while. Luke helped Lorelai put on Lucan's coat and they put him in his car seat. The baby immediately started crying again, not happy that his mother let go of him. Lorelai looked at Luke, not sure what to do. She knew she couldn't drive and hold the baby at the same time, and didn't feel like walking home in the rain with a sick child. Luke didn't have to think long before he took his son out of the car seat and handed him back to Lorelai. "I'll drive you home, and then drive back to the pharmacy to pick up the meds. Then when I go back to the diner I'll walk and take your car home."

"Thanks." She answered gratefully as the baby slowly relaxed again in her arms.

When they arrived home Lorelai kissed Luke goodbye and walked into the house, straight upstairs into Lucan's room. She opened one of the drawers of the changing table, and took out the thermometer. "You're not going to like this, my boy," she told the baby. She put the baby on the changing table and he already let her know he didn't like it. "I know honey, but we have to do this. I'm so sorry."

Lorelai opened a jar of ointment and put in the thermometer so it wouldn't hurt too much. Then she took of Lucan's pants and diaper. She lifted his legs, holding them steady as she put in the thermometer. The boy started crying even harder now. Lorelai laid her cheek on the baby's forehead, trying to calm him down, but knowing there was nothing to calm him down besides picking him up right now. "We have to do this sweetie. Mommy needs to know how high your temperature is and then daddy will bring us some medicine to help you feel better, okay?"

While talking to her son, Lorelai waited for the thermometer to beep, indicating that it was ready. When this happened she looked up and carefully took the thermometer out. She looked at it. "103 degrees. That's definitely a fever honey." She put on a new diaper and changed the baby into a pair of pajamas. Then she went downstairs to heat up a bottle.

It wasn't easy to do everything while holding the baby, but he wouldn't let her lay him down. When she tried, he started crying and it was like his temperature became even hotter when he did that. While she waited for the bottle to heat up, she listened to the messages on the answering machine and went through the mail. There was nothing interesting.

Lorelai tried to feed Lucan, but he refused the bottle. "Come on sweetie, you have to eat something." It was no use; he hit the bottle away with his little hand. "But you have to drink something. You have a fever so it's important that you drink." She tried to give him the bottle once more, but got the same response. She walked back into the kitchen and made some oatmeal out of the milk, hoping that he would take that. When it was finished she sat down at the kitchen table, Lucan in her lap and the plate with the oatmeal on the table. She took a small spoon and held it in front of the babies face. But the only reason he opened his mouth was to start crying again. Lorelai felt helpless even though she knew she shouldn't. "You really have to eat honey. Please, do it for mommy." But she laid the spoon back on the plate and turned the baby around, cuddling him against her chest. Then she stood up, took another bottle out of the cabinet and filled it with bottled water. She hoped that he would at least drink something.

Back in the living room she sat down on the couch again, turning on the TV out of habit, but not watching it. All she watched was her son, as she tried to make him drink some water. By the time Luke came home she was close to tears. She heard Luke opening the front door and tried to compose herself. She swallowed a few times and whispered. "Let's be good as long as your daddy's here okay?"

"Hey." Luke said as he walked into the living room.

"Hey." Lorelai looked up.

"How's he doing?"

"His temperature was a 103. I tried feeding him, but he doesn't want anything. It's not really a problem if he doesn't eat, but I tried giving him water, and he refuses that too. He has to drink Luke, otherwise he can dehydrate." Even though she tried really hard, the panic and frustration was obvious in her voice.

Luke sat down next to her. "Maybe he's just not thirsty right now. Let's give him his meds okay, and we'll try giving him something to drink again later. You and him are both exhausted and upset right now, so you won't get him to do anything."

She nodded, knowing that Luke was right. "What did the pharmacist say?"

Luke opened the paper back and took out two boxes. "This is baby Tylenol. They are suppository so it won't be a problem to get him to take them. He can have 3 of these per day." He opened the box and took one out. Then picked up the other box. "This is nose spray. He can have one spray in each nose hole 5 times a day. They didn't want to give me anything for the coughing. We have to see a doctor for that if things get worse or don't get any better after a few days. But they say it's better not to give any meds for that. He also said that if he's not doing any better after 3 days, or his temperature is getting higher than 104, we have to see the doctor as well. And like you said it's important to keep him hydrated."

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem. Here, let's start with the Tylenol."

"Okay. We can give him one now, and one before we go to bed, so hopefully he'll get through the night okay."

Luke nodded. "You know how to do this?" He picked up the pill he had put on the table earlier.

Lorelai smiled. "Sure. I've done this before." She put the baby on the couch, unbuttoning

Lucan's pajama and took of his diaper. Then she lifted his legs and put in the suppository. Then she lifted the baby, holding him close to her chest, trying to calm him down again. She could feel he tried to squeeze it out but she made sure he couldn't. "It takes a moment to melt." She explained to Luke, who nodded in response. After holding Lucan close for a while, she put him back on the couch to get him back in his diaper and his pajamas. "Can you hand me the nose spray?"

"Sure." Luke opened the box and took out the bottle before handing it to Lorelai. "Here you go."

"Thanks." She took of the lit. "Okay, he's not going to enjoy this. She laid the baby down in her arms, putting one of his arms behind her, like she did when she fed him, and hold the other one with her hand. Then she put the tip in one of his nose holes and sprayed once. The boy protested hard, trying to get out of his mother's firm grip. She struggled giving him the nose spray on the other side and managed in the end. Then she lifted the boy, knowing that nose spray can drip into your throat, and nobody likes that taste. Then she handed Luke the baby. "Here, you hold him for a while. He does not like me right now so I think you have a bigger change in calming him down."

Luke took the baby in his arms and cuddled him. "Hey there son. You do not like your mommy right now huh? Well, daddy's here too. I let uncle Caesar cover the diner together with Jake, so daddy's not going anywhere."

"You're not going back to the diner?"

"No, my son is sick. I have to take care of him."

"But I can manage it. I've done this more than once when Rory was little."

"When Rory was little, there was no-one to help you. I'm here now, okay?"

She nodded gratefully. "Thanks." Then she laid her head on Luke's shoulder, closing her eyes as she sighed.

He kissed her forehead. "What are you thinking?"

"I forgot that this part comes with having kids too. I remember the first time Rory was sick.

She was just 3 months old and I was still living with my parents. Rory started coughing a little and my parents were supposed to go away for the weekend, but they wanted to stay home in case she got really sick. I told them I could manage and that they shouldn't let me ruin their nice weekend away. Of course that was totally selfish because I wanted to get them out of the house, since they were driving me crazy. Anyway, after some protesting they decided to go.  
At first Rory was fine, but during the night she woke up crying. I walk to her bed and she was completely covered in sweat, and she was so hot. I had no idea what to do. I tried taking her temperature but didn't really know how and I didn't know anything about medicine and stuff. I ended up calling the doctor because Rory wouldn't stop crying. He came immediately and gave Rory some baby Tylenol that took down the fever and he showed me how to give it to her, and how to take her temperature. He also explained what I had to do when her temperature would get higher and when I had to give her the medicine. Her temperature was only a 102 at the time, so it wasn't that bad, but I didn't know that. It didn't take long before she fell back asleep, but I stayed awake for three whole days to make sure she didn't need anything. By the time my parents got back home, I was exhausted and Rory was feeling back to normal. They told me I should have called them, but of course I was too stubborn to do that. They took care of her for the day though, so I could finally sleep. "

"You must have been so scared. You were only a kid yourself."

"I was. My baby was sick and I had no idea what to do. I felt so helpless. I wanted to be independent but at that moment, I couldn't." The tone of her voice got lower with every word. She didn't like to admit that she felt helpless, and wasn't superwoman all the time. Even though Luke knew her better than anyone else, it was still hard for her to let her guards down, and not to pretend.

"Nobody expected you to be independent. You were only 16 years old Lorelai and you had to take care of a baby. When I look at Rory I don't know how you did it all by yourself."

She smiled. "I got help. I didn't want the help of my parents, but I could have never done it without Mia. I don't know what would have happened if she didn't give me a job and a place to live back then."

"You would have found something else; you were too determined to be on your own to give up until you found something for you and Rory. You were just lucky that you found it in the first place you looked."

"Yeah. It was a coincidence that I ended up in Stars Hollow; at least, that's what I thought. But I guess that it was just meant to be. If I hadn't stepped on that bus that day and went somewhere else instead, I wouldn't be here right now with you, and I wouldn't have that little boy there."

"You would have had something else. You wouldn't have known."

She looked at him, making sure he was looking in her eyes as she replied. "There is no place in the world where I would have rather end up than where I did. I don't believe that there is a place where I could have become as happy as I am right now."

He smiled and then leaned in to kiss her. "I'm happy you ended up here too."

"Good." She put her head back on Luke's shoulder. "Do you think Lucan would take some water now?"

"We can try."

She picked the bottle from the table, but Lucan turned his head away immediately. She sighed in frustration. "Come on sweetie, you have to drink something."

"How did you make Rory drink when she was sick as a baby?"

She thought about it for a while. "She never wanted the bottles, like they were to big or something. I just got a glass of water and a spoon, and gave her a few spoons of water every half hour or so."

"Then let's try that."

She nodded as she stood up and walked towards the kitchen. She opened a cabinet, taking out a glass and filled it with water. Then she opened a drawer and took out a plastic spoon. When she entered the living room again Luke was still in the same position, with Lucan still safely in his arms, although the boy was a little fussy again. "Okay, lift him up a little." She sat down next to Luke and put some water on the spoon, then putting it in front of her son, hoping he would open his mouth. When he didn't she moved a little closer so he could feel the moist on his lips, and that's when he opened his mouth. Lorelai sighed in relief. She gave him a few more spoons until he refused to open his mouth again.

"That worked."

"Yes it did. Thanks."

"It was your idea."

"Yeah, true, but you made sure I thought of it. I didn't."

"You would have, I was just a little faster than you were." He handed her Lucan. "You take him, and then I'll call Caesar to tell him I'm not coming back, okay?"

She nodded. "Thanks."

"You don't have to say that. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do."

"You know you don't have to right?"

"But I do." He kissed her forehead and then stood up and walked towards the phone.

Lorelai felt the heat of her son against her body. The little boy was sleepy again and had trouble keeping his eyes open. She knew the best thing to do right now, was put him back in bed, and let him sleep for a while, but for some reason she wanted to keep him close. Afraid something would happen if she wasn't around him. It felt safe to be able to see him and to make sure he was okay. And even though they had a baby monitor, and he would only be a few steps away, she didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone. It had been so long since she had taken care of a sick baby. Of course Rory had been sick many times, but it got easier when she got older. Rory was able to tell her how she felt and what she wanted so she could feel a little better. Lucan was too small to tell her what he needed and he had never been sick before.

-xxxxxx-

"Lorelai, you have to come to bed." Luke whispered as he walked into Lucan's room. She put him in bed around 8 p.m. and stayed in his room all night. He tried many times to get her away, but she wouldn't give in.

"I'll sleep here. That way I'm right there for him when he needs me."

"He's fine. He's been asleep since you put him to bed, and we're only one room away if he wakes up. You have to get some sleep."

"But…"

"No buts." He walked towards her and took one of her hands in his, kneeling down so he was on eye level with her. "He's going to be okay. It's just a cold and he knows that you're here for him. He needs you to get some sleep so you will be able to take care of him when he needs you, okay? You won't be any good to him when you're all tired and cranky because you didn't sleep. It's best to sleep when he's asleep."

She nodded, knowing that Luke was right, so she stood up and let Luke lead her into the bedroom.

They had been asleep not even an hour when they heard crying from the baby monitor. Lorelai sat up immediately, ready to step out of bed, but Luke was first. "You stay here, I'll take a look at him."

"But…"

"No, it's my turn. When he wakes up again you go, but now it's my turn." He left, not giving her a change to protest. Lucan was covered in sweat when Luke walked into his room. The boy was crying and his voice was raw. His throat was obviously bothering him. Luke picked up the baby, cradling him against his chest. "Hey buddy, what's this. You're supposed to be sleeping now."

When the baby calmed down a little, Luke put him on the changing table. He took of the wet pajamas and changed the diaper as well. He placed a hand on the little boy's forehead, doubting whether or not he should take his temperature. Since he didn't feel like it got any higher, he decided not to tease the boy. He gave him a new diaper and put on some dry pajamas and walked around the room, softly singing a lullaby until the baby was back asleep.

Lucan woke up almost every hour that night. They each took turns taking care of the baby. Sometimes changing a diaper, sometimes changing pajamas, sometimes giving him a few sips of water, and sometimes just holding him and comforting him as he cried. When the morning came, all three of them were broken. Lucan was the one who got the most sleep, since it took him only a few minutes to fall back asleep. Every time Luke and Lorelai finally managed to fall back asleep, it didn't take long before the baby woke them up again.

Luke had already turned of the alarm clock sometime during the night, not caring that he wouldn't be there to open the diner, and not planning on going in the first place. Jake would be there a little before six and he could open up by himself. Luke did leave him a message on the diner's answering machine to let him know.

It was 7 o'clock when Lucan once again woke up crying. By this time both Luke and Lorelai were tired of being in bed and trying to get some sleep, and decided to stay out. They took the baby downstairs and made him a bottle, which he, of course, refused. They gave him a few sips of water instead and gave him some nose spray to help him breath. They decided to wait with the baby Tylenol, not comfortable using to much of it, if it wasn't necessary.

The whole morning Lucan wanted nothing else than to be held by his mother. It didn't take long before he fell asleep, but when she wanted to put him down in his stroller, he woke up immediately, crying. She knew that if she let him cry for a few minutes, he would fall back asleep and she would have some time for herself, but she didn't have the heart so she picked him back up, sitting down on the couch and held him while he immediately calmed down. And it didn't take long before he was back asleep.

-xxxxxx-

Luke had decided to check up on the diner for half an hour, to make sure that everything was okay. He wasn't comfortable leaving, but Lorelai had assured him that it was okay. There wasn't anything he could do anyway, since Lucan didn't even want to be held by his father. All he wanted was his mom. When he arrived back in the house, he found both Lorelai and the baby asleep on the couch. Lorelai was lying on her back, and Lucan was lying on his side, on her chest. He couldn't help but smile as he sat down in one of the chairs and watched them. It didn't take long before he was asleep as well.

Rory walked into the house around 4 o'clock. Her classes had ended early, and Warren had classes until late. They had both been busy lately and therefore Rory hadn't been home much and since she had the time now she decided to check up on her parents. They were all asleep when she came into the house. Luke in the big chair, and Lorelai with Lucan on the couch. She smiled as she walked into the kitchen, taking a magazine with her. She read almost an hour, until Lucan woke up his parents. Lorelai sat up, and Rory walked into the living room.

"Hey."

"Rory, how did you get here."

"I took my car." She smiled.

"When did you get here?" Lorelai tried to rephrase.

"About an hour ago. You were all asleep and looked like you could use it so I didn't want to disturb you."

"That's sweet. You're brother is sick and he kept us awake all night. He didn't want me to let him go and when he fell asleep, I guess I fell asleep too. But I'm not sure about Luke. I don't remember him coming home." She looked at her husband.

"I walked in around one. You were sleeping and I sat down for a while to watch you, but I guess I fell asleep too."

"You're all so cute. But Lucan's sick?"

"Yeah. Yesterday in the diner he woke up with a fever after his afternoon nap. He was coughing a little earlier, but it all the sudden got this bad. Nothing to worry about, probably just the flu. Not very uncommon for this time of the year. But what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to check up on you guys, and see how you were doing. Why didn't you tell me Lucan is sick?"

"I would have, but we've just been around taking care of him most of the time. I was planning on calling you later today, but now I don't have to anymore. Where's Warren?"

"He doesn't have to come along every time I come here, you know. We're not physically attached to each other."

"I know that sweetie, I was just being polite."

"He has classes until 6.30 today. My last class ended at 3 so I figured I could drive here. Now that the exams are over I finally had some time to come here, it's been a while."

"I know. I missed you."

"Missed you too. So, any other news?" She looked at her mother hopefully.

"Nope, nothing happened. Well, Taylor came up with a new annual town event, but that's not really new now is it?"

"Guess not." Rory smiled. "What is it this time?"

"A November fair."

"And how do I have to see that?"

"Nobody knows. He has big banners all over town, but there are no details whatsoever. He wants people to participate, but wants to keep everything a secret, so no one knows what they are participating in. Of course they participate anyway. Kirk was the first one who applied, and almost everybody followed right after that."

"Including your mother."

"Hey, most town events are cool. I can't help that you are totally anti-town here."

"I'm just saying that it's not smart to agree to something you don't know anything about when it comes to Taylor, that's all. We both know him Lorelai."

"You're no fun." She pouted. She wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Lucan who once again started crying. She took him upstairs to change his diaper and take his temperature, while Luke warmed up a bottle. Just a little bit in the hope that he would eat something.

"So, how high was it this time?" Luke asked when Lorelai arrived back downstairs a few minutes later.

"102 so it went down a little."

"That's good, right?"

"Definitely. We just have to wait and see how he's doing, but first, let's try if he's willing to eat something. She sat down on the couch while Luke handed her the bottle. Lucan didn't eat much, be at least he ate something, which was a big difference. Lorelai felt a lot more comfortable already, and when he was done drinking and she handed him to Rory, the boy gave his sister a smile, which made Lorelai smile too. "Looks like he's doing a lot better."

But that night went the same as the night before. Lucan woke up every hour and his temperature got up again. And the third time Lorelai walked into his room, she smelled something sour. In a few steps she was standing next to Lucan's bed, and he had vomited. "Luke." She lifted up the baby. "Luke!"

"What's wrong?" He was standing behind her already.

"He threw up."

"You clean him up, I'll change his bed."

Lorelai nodded and walked to the changing table, getting Lucan out of his dirty clothes. She put a bathrobe around him, and walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower. It was the first time she was planning on showering him, instead of giving him a bath, simply because it was easier and faster, but she didn't knew how to do it. Holding him under the shower without getting wet herself. Because she couldn't think of anything, she decided to shower with him. While holding the baby, she somehow managed to get herself out of her night clothes and turned on the shower. When she was happy with the temperature of the water, she took Lucan's bathrobe off, and stepped into the shower. He didn't seem to like the shower at all, since he started crying immediately, but she didn't care. She was simply to tired, and too worried about other things to come up with a better solution. She washed the baby completely and then stepped out of the shower. Luckily, by then Luke was finished with the bed and took their son from her, so she could dry herself.

While they were all back into pajamas Luke was ready to put Lucan back in his own bed.

"I'm not comfortable with that Luke, what if he throws up again and doesn't wake up? That can be really dangerous. He could suffocate…" Just the thought scared her and she shrugged it off.

"What do you suggest?"

"Either he can sleep with us, or I'm sleeping in his room."

Luke knew that sleeping in his room meant no sleeping at all, so he decided to go for the first option. "He can sleep with us."

"Thanks." She sounded relieved.

"But tomorrow we're taking him to the doctor. A fever okay, but this vomiting just doesn't feel good."

"I agree. I'll call and make an appointment first thing in the morning."

-xxxxxx-

After they put Lucan in their bed things went better. Lucan didn't wake up as much as he did before. He fell asleep soon and didn't wake up again until 6 o clock. Because both Luke and Lorelai were not used to having him in their bed, they were afraid to crush him, and therefore it took them a long time to finally fell asleep. When Lucan woke up, Lorelai woke up with him. She saw that Luke was still asleep so she took Lucan downstairs, hoping Luke would sleep a while longer. She tried to give Lucan some milk, but he refused and only took a few sips of water. Then she made herself some pop tarts and watched some cartoons with Lucan. It somehow seemed to calm him down and they stayed in front of the TV until Luke came down almost two hours later. That's when Lorelai decided to call the doctor's office for an appointment.

……."It's not necessary to take your sick son here Mrs. Danes. I'll make sure the doctor stops by your house in the afternoon. And I'll put you on top of the list."

"Thank you." Lorelai sighed in relieve. She didn't fell like taking Lucan outside.

"Goodbye Mrs. Danes."

"Goodbye Ms. Rodgers."

"Well?" Luke asked.

"The doctor will stop by in the beginning of the afternoon. They don't want us to take him outside if it isn't necessary."

"Okay good." He thought for a while. "So, now what?

"We just have to continue what we were doing, and hopefully the doctor will give him some medicine so he will get better sooner."

He nodded. "I'm going to take a shower, okay? Then you can take one after that and I'll look after Lucan for a while. You deserve a break."

"Thanks."

When Luke came back downstairs Lorelai went up to take a shower. She knew that she could take her time, but she rushed anyway. It was not that she didn't trust Luke to take care of Lucan. He was the only person she trusted with her son as much as herself. But she also knew that the previous day Lucan wanted nothing else than to be with her, and she couldn't deny him anything. And more than anything she felt sorry for the kid, because he had no idea what was happening to him, and was too small to understand. As active and alive he was before, so silent was he now. She hoped that he would be better soon.

When she came back downstairs twenty minutes later, Luke was sitting on the couch with Lucan in his lap. She could see that he was asleep. Luke was singing softly as he cuddled his son close. Lorelai sat down halfway down the stairs so she could see Luke's face, while he sang to his son. This is what she always wanted. Someone to share all her problems with. Someone who was there for her no matter what, and even more, for her kids. She smiled as she realized that this was it. The whole package. She placed her hand on her stomach. She was cramping a little. Ever since Lucan got sick she forgot about it, and just handled it as something that was supposed to be there, even though she didn't wanted it to be there. She wanted something more. But she decided right at that moment that Luke was right. It will happen when the time is right. She shouldn't be so disappointed every month. It was only the second month and even if she didn't get pregnant, her life is perfect as it is. And with that thought she went downstairs and sat down next to Luke, cuddling against him.

He looked up. "Hey, that was fast."

She just smiled and said. "I love you."

"I love you too. But where is this all coming from?"

She placed a finger on his lips, knowing that he would interrupt her if she didn't. "I was watching you sitting here on the couch with our sick baby boy, singing to him. And I realized that this is what I always wanted. You remember when I pretended to be Mimi after we fought a long time ago?"

He nodded as her finger was still on his lips.

"I realized that this is it Luke. The whole package. You were right then. I got it. And I got it with you."

Luke smiled as she finally took her fingers of his lips. "I told you you'd get it."

She smiled too. "Yeah you did." And then leaned in to kiss him.


	6. Going out

_A/N: First, happy Sinterklaas to all of you! TheDutch people, and David will know where I'm talking about. And maybe a few German people (although they think I'm a day early, but we really celebrate it on the 5th), and of course those from Belgium. Second, many thanks to LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict for proofreading. And of course lots of thanks to all of you who reviewed! It looks like you're all liking my way of describing the regular family problems. Of course there are a lot more for me to describe so this story will continue for a while. I think the title of this chapter says enough so I don't have to tell where this chapter is about. Takes place a few weeks after the last one. Read and review please! _

**Chapter 6 Going out **

Luke walked into the inn around 3 o'clock. He smiled when he saw Lorelai standing behind the front desk.

"Hey Luke." Lorelai smiled back when she noticed her husband.

"Hey. How's your day going so far?"

"Good. Lucan's asleep in my office." She pointed at the baby monitor that was standing on the desk, next to the phone. "Michel has a day off and it's not that busy. The only busy moment was when we had to rush Sookie to the doctor because she burned her hand."

"That never changes."

"No it doesn't. But what brings you here in the middle of the day?"

"What, can't a guy visit his beautiful wife?"

"Of course he can." She leaned over the desk to place a kiss on his lips. "But you just usually don't come here, unless I call you to fix something. I can't remember something being broken." She started looking through the papers lying on the desk. "Did I miss something?"

"No, I actually came to ask you something."

"Oh." She smiled. "Go ahead and ask."

"Do uh…." She couldn't help but think he sounded nervous. "Do you uh… do you want to go out with me tonight?"

"Of course. I'd love to. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion. I just want to take you out tonight, without any reason. I asked Rory and she said she wants to babysit Lucan."

"But it's Thursday evening. She has school tomorrow."

"We don't have to stay out long. We can be back by, I don't know, ten or something."

"Well, if we're going out, I'd prefer not looking at the time. How about we go out tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow's Friday."

"So?"

"Lorelai." He sighed.

"I'm sure I can get us out of Friday night dinner Luke. And Rory can still go, and she can take Lucan with her. As long as mom sees her grandson she's happy. We spent weeks not going to Friday night dinner during summer season."

"Fine try, otherwise we can always go tonight. If you still want to of course."

"I still want to. Don't worry." She kissed him once more to reassure him. "You go back to the diner, then I'll go give my mom a call. I'll let you know as soon as I know more, okay?"

"Okay." He stole another kiss before he walked out of the Inn towards his truck.

Lorelai decided it was best to call her mother right away. It was still quiet in the lobby and she knew from experience that it could change in a second. She picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Gilmore residence." A maid picked up after the first ring.

"Wow that was fast. Are you carrying the phone around all the time to keep my mother happy?"

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, never mind. Is my mother there?"

"Who is this?"

"Lorelai Danes, formally known as Lorelai Gilmore. I'm Mrs. Gilmore's daughter. Is she home?"

"Yes, Mrs. Gilmore is there. I'm sorry. Just a minute Mrs. Danes."

"Thank you."

"Lorelai?" Emily's voice was heard not much later.

"Hey mom. Do you have a new maid again?"

"Just temporarily."

"Aren't they all?" Lorelai said quietly, but loud enough for Emily to hear.

"What can I do for you Lorelai?" Emily decided to ignore Lorelai's comment.

"I actually need a favor."

"That doesn't sound good."

"Just hear me out okay? Luke just walked in here and he asked if I wanted to go out with him tonight."

"Sounds nice. Do you want me to babysit Lucan?"

"No, he asked Rory to babysit, but since Rory has classes tomorrow, we can't stay out later than ten o'clock or so. So I was wondering if we could postpone the whole dating thing until tomorrow evening."

"But tomorrow is Friday Lorelai."

"I know mom. That's why I needed a favor. Can we please not go to Friday night dinner just this once? I know that during the summer we only went once every two weeks, and that now things are more quiet, we're back to coming every week, but I really want to go out with my husband."

"You can go out another night. There are seven days a week, why do you have to pick this day in particular?"

"Because Saturday is a going out night for young people, so Rory can't babysit, and after every other night she has classes, except on Saturday. And the day previous to Saturday is Friday, so we can stay out as long as we want. And of course she will still come to Friday night dinner, and since she's babysitting, it's obvious she'll be taking Lucan with her. I mean, he can't stay home alone."

"I don't see why you can't find someone else to babysit, besides Rory."

"Sookie has two kids of her own to take care of, she doesn't need mine too. And I don't want to leave my kid with anybody else in town. So Rory's my only option mom."

"How about me? I'd be happy to take care of Lucan for you."

Lorelai knew this was coming. "I know you would, but dad won't let you drive your car at night, and if we bring him to you, we have to wake him up to get him back home, and he really doesn't like that. And I know you will say that he can stay over, but it's really a lot of work to take care of a baby in the morning mom."

"I know it's a lot of work to take care of a baby Lorelai. You were a baby once. But I can handle it."

"I know you can, but I don't want to put that burden upon you. You know what, never mind. Forget about the whole dating thing. In a few weeks Rory has Christmas break, we can go out then." Lorelai tried hard to keep the disappointment out of her voice, but couldn't.

"Why don't you let me look after my grandson Lorelai? I'm sure your father is even willing to drive me and help me to babysit. He really loves playing with Lucan."

"I know." Lorelai had to think for a while. Why wouldn't she let her mother babysit? It wasn't like she couldn't trust her mother with her son. Of course, she never let her mother look after Rory, but that was a different time. And this way she could go out tonight, and still go to Friday night dinner tomorrow. "I have to talk about it with Luke first."

"Call me back when you know more, okay?"

"I will. Talk to you later mom."

"Bye Lorelai."

Lorelai stared at the phone in shock. Did she partially agree to let her mother look after Lucan? She had no idea how Luke would respond to this. She should have known this was going to happen if she tried to get out of Friday night dinner. And she couldn't use the excuse that she couldn't come because Lucan was sick, because she already did that a few weeks ago. But after Lucan got some medicine from the doctor he got better soon, and her mother knew that just as good as she did. Since it was still quiet she dialed Luke's number and it didn't take long before he picked up.

"Luke's."

"Hey gorgeous."

"Lorelai?"

"Who else calls you gorgeous?"

"You mean besides Miss Patty?"

"Since when does Miss Patty call you that? I don't have to start worrying, do I?"

"Whatever Lorelai. Did you talk to your mother?"

"Yeah I did. How would you feel if, I don't know, Rory would not babysit tonight?"

"But tomorrow?"

"No, not tomorrow."

"So, you don't want to go on a date at all?"

"Of course I want to go on a date. But what I tried to say was, what if Rory wasn't the one babysitting, but my mother was?"

"You're seriously considering to let your mother look after our son?"

"I knew you wouldn't want it. Well, I'll call her back and tell her we can't do it, then maybe she lets us out of Friday night dinner."

"She won't. And I didn't said I wasn't okay with it. I asked if you were."

She sighed. "I don't know Luke. I really want to go out with you tonight. It's been forever since we went on a real date. If I remember correctly, that was on Christmas Eve last year. That's almost a year ago Luke. It's December now. Next week is my mother's Christmas party, and after that it's only three more weeks until Christmas."

"I know. Look, if you're okay with it, then I'm okay with it as well. I have to admit that Emily is not my most favorite person when it comes to looking after Lucan, but she's his grandmother."

"Okay." She thought for a while.

"Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

"Just tell her to come okay? I don't want him to spend the night in her house. I want him in his own bed."

"I know, me too. She already knows that. She'll probably take my dad with her and besides, we'll just put him in bed before we leave and he never wakes up after that anyway. The only time he did that was when he was sick."

"Okay. Then go call her. I'm sure she's waiting next to the phone for your call."

"I bet she is. So, you pick me up at 7?"

"Pick you up at 7. Be ready."

"I'll try." And with that she hung up.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai was standing in front of her closet, dressed in only a bathrobe. She had taken a shower, and was now trying to decide what she was going to wear. Every dress she had in her closet looked lame and she wore them a dozen times at least. She wanted tonight to be special, and her outfit had to be special too. She took out every dress she had, only to put them back a second later. There were several dresses she knew Luke liked, but she felt as if they were not good enough for tonight. She picked up the phone and dialed a number. Before her daughter got the time to even say her name Lorelai screamed "Rory help!"

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"I don't have anything to wear."

Rory smiled. "What's that in your closet then?"

"There are all dresses I've worn a dozen times at least. I want to look special tonight."

"Oh mom, even if you dressed in a garbage bag Luke would still think you look special."

"You're not helping Rory."

Rory was surprised at the frustration in her mother's voice. "Mom, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I just have nothing to wear."

"You've been nervous for dates before, but you've never been as nervous as you are tonight. What's up?"

"Nothing's up Rory. Will you help me or not?"

"Not until you tell me what's going on." Rory waited patiently for her mother to speak.

"Nothing's going on, I swear. It's just…."

"What?"

"You know when the last time Luke and I went on a date was?"

"No?"

Lorelai sat down on the bed. "Christmas eve, last year."

"The night he proposed."

Lorelai nodded, even though Rory couldn't see it. "We never went out together after that. I didn't even realize it until Luke walked into the diner today. When did we change Rory? I mean, we were together for one night when we went to the cabin a few months ago, but besides that there's always someone else you know. And it wasn't really a date. It wasn't going out for dinner and seeing a movie like we used to. We went out all the time when we just dated, but then we got engaged and got married, and Lucan was born, and it all just stopped."

"Isn't that the way it's supposed to go?"

"It is, I guess. I don't know. I've never been married before. When you were born it was just me and you for so long and it took me forever before I even started thinking about dating again. And that was okay you know, because I had so many things to think about, I never even thought about men."

"Uhuh.." Rory didn't understand where her mother was going.

"It's just… I never expected to become the kind of woman who never goes out anymore. Who stays home all the time to be with her husband and kid. I mean, I love being home with Lucan, and I love the nights on the couch with Luke, but it just sounds so dull. I just didn't think I could be like that."

"Oh mom, you're not dull. Far from that. It's normal that you don't go out as often once you get married and have kids. It wouldn't be good if it was the other way around. I know that when you had me it was all different and I love that you stayed home with me all the time, but I was happy when you went out once in a while too, and Lucan would love it too if you and Luke spend some time together as well."

"Yeah you're right. But you never helped me out here. What do I wear?"

At that moment Luke walked into the bedroom. "Wear the black dress."

Lorelai smiled. "Hey Rory, I guess I'm hanging up now. Luke's helping me."

"I heard. Say hello to him for me okay? And to grandma and grandpa. I still can't believe that you let them babysit."

"Oh well, it was the best solution since she wouldn't let me out of Friday night dinner. You have school tomorrow."

"But I really didn't mind babysitting my little brother."

"I know you didn't babe. I see you tomorrow at Grandma's, okay?"

"Okay. And I want to hear everything about your date with Luke."

"I'll tell you all the details."

"Good. Have fun, mom."

"I will. Bye hon."

"Bye."

"It's almost 7 and you're not close to being ready." Luke said after she placed the phone on the bed next to her.

"I know. But don't you know by now that when a woman says 7, she means 7.30?"

"Yeah I do. But your parents will be here at exactly seven, and you know how your mother will react if we're not ready to leave by then. But how about you put on some clothes, do your hair and whatever it is you're doing, then I'll put Lucan in bed and take a shower."

"Sounds good. It's still a little before his bedtime, but he was tired anyway."

-xxxxxx-

At 7 o clock exactly the doorbell rang. Lorelai was completely finished, all she had to do was put on her shoes so Luke opened the door.

"Hello Luke. Don't you look nice tonight." Emily smiled when she walked in.

"Hello Emily. Richard." He shook the hand of his father in law.

"Luke."

"Well, all ready." Lorelai walked into the hallway. "There's food in the kitchen, there's beer in the fridge and the stronger liquor is in the cabinet next to it. But don't drink too much because you have the responsibility of taking care of my son, and you still have to drive home tonight. The TV is in the living room, and if you're looking for books the best place to check is Rory's room. Luke put Lucan to bed about twenty minutes ago and I just checked up on him before I came downstairs and he's sound asleep. Normally he doesn't wake up once he's asleep so I don't think he'll be giving you any trouble. The baby phone is on the coffee table so if he wakes up you'll hear him, and if there is anything, both Luke's and my cell phone number are on the fridge."

"He's going to be fine. We're going to be fine. Just go and have fun." Emily almost pushed her daughter out of the door.

"We will. You too. I'm sorry he's already asleep but he was really tired."

"That's alright. Small boys have to be asleep at this time, so it was to be expected."

"Okay. Then we're going otherwise we're late for our dinner reservation. See you later mom."

"Have fun Lorelai, Luke."

-xxxxxx-

I can't believe how long it is since we did this." Lorelai took a sip of her wine."

"I know." Luke smiled as he took a bite of his salmon.

"So, what made you decide to ask me out tonight?"

"I figured it was time."

"But why tonight in particular? Why not last week, or next week, or something?"

"I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably.

Of course Lorelai noticed this. "You do know. Luke, what's going on?"

"Do you think we changed?"

"Changed how?"

"You know, just changed."

"Yeah. Of course things changed. Last year this time, we were expecting a kid, we weren't even engaged and Rory was in London. Now we are married, have an amazing son and not only did we get our daughter back, but a great son in law too. I know he's not really, but I'd like to see of him as if he is. It's different than with all the other boys she dated. I know she had a crush on them, but this is so much more than that. If I look at them, I see real love you know?"

"I know. But we don't ever go out anymore. The last time we went on a date was the night we got engaged."

"I noticed that too. But really does it matter? We still spend a lot of time together, we just don't get out as often as we used to. But it's still us."

"But your life became boring."

"What?" She looked at him in shock.

"You were this woman who went out all the time. You were this hip mother who was dating and now you just don't anymore."

"Well, I guess it would be kind of weird if I dated, since I'm married to you."

"That's not what I meant. It's just, since you started dating me your life changed. It started with going to bed early because I had early deliveries, but now you're not doing anything anymore. It's as if I have to force you to get out of the house sometimes."

"So you're saying I'm dull?"

"What, no! I'm saying that I don't want you to change because of me. I want you to be who you are, and not someone you're not."

"Luke, where's all of this coming from? I thought that my life is great the way is right now. I love hanging in front of the TV with you when I come home from work, all tired. I love to go to bed early once in a while, and to be honest, I'm exhausted at 9.30 sometimes. I used to watch TV or read your manuals because I was not tired, but now I am. I'm working hard, and taking care of a baby just does that to you. But I don't mind any of this. I really don't."

"Really?"

"Yeah, seriously. But Luke, who got all of this in your mind?"

"Who said someone did?"

"You don't come up with this stuff on your own. My guess is on Miss Patty or Babette, or both of them."

"They were in the diner this morning and I overheard them talking. I wasn't really paying attention because of course, they are Miss Patty and Babette, but then I heard them saying your name and I got curious. They went on and on about how you changed ever since you married me. How boring your life became and that it wouldn't take long before you run away because this is not what you want. I knew that it wasn't true, but it just kept running through my mind. I don't want you to change Lorelai."

"You're an idiot you know that. Whenever your hear the two of them talking you have to turn around and walk away, no matter who's name you overhear them saying. But Luke, of course we changed. Not only I changed, but you changed as well, and I thought that was a good thing. I'd lie if I say that I wasn't nervous about this date, but just because I didn't know where it was coming from, and because it's been so long since we've been on a date, you know? But honestly, until you asked me out today I didn't even think about it. I have to admit that it's really nice, just the two of us, like old times, but I don't miss it. I love spending time with you no matter what we do. And changing is part of growing up. Most of the people stop going out when they are younger and get married, but it just took us a long time until we got there. And honestly, when Rory was little I hardly ever went out. Rory was like five years old until I went out for the first time, and I hated it. The guy was really nice and all, but I just wasn't ready. So was I boring? According to the friends I used to have I was, but I had a kid to take care of, and I wasn't even thinking about going out and I had completely different problems then they had. While I worried about how to buy new clothes for my daughter, they worried about why their boyfriend of the month didn't like them anymore, and it didn't take long before we stopped seeing each other. But I got new friends and a different life and that change was good. Just like the changes now are good."

"So you don't think your life is boring right now?"

"Absolutely not. I have an amazing husband, two great kids, and the perfect job. What else could there be to make my life even more perfect? Of course it would be nice if we went out a little more often, just to spend time together because I'm really having a great time right now, but I wouldn't trade the life I have for the one I once had, for the world. This is what I wanted all the time, and trust me, it's not boring at all."

"Good." He smiled and took her hand and squeezed it.

"But you don't think your life is boring right? I mean, I know I changed but I thought it was a good change for the both of us."

"How could living with you be boring?" It was all he could say, and it said enough, at least to him it did. His life was boring before he met Lorelai. Of course it had its better points, but overall, it was boring and his days were predictable. But ever since Lorelai walked into his diner for the first time that changed. She lightened the place up when she walked in, and it was unable to predict how she was going to act or what was going to happen. And he loved it. He started to fantasize how it would to be with her and he fell in love with her. He fell hard and deep and even though it took him forever before he dared to admit it, his life became even better once he did. It wasn't like he expected it would be, it was even better.

"I don't know. You tell me." She smiled.

"My life used to be boring, but once I met you, you changed that. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, you know that right?"

"I feel absolutely the same way. You and Rory and Lucan are the best things that ever happened in my life."

"You know, every morning I wake up next to you I can't help but think how special you are to me, and how blessed I feel to have you in my life."

She tried to say something, but she couldn't find the words. Luke had said special things to her before, but that was usually behind the closed doors of their bedroom. This was in the middle of a restaurant, and even though nobody was listening to them, it was still very un-Luke-like.

He smiled knowing that she was speechless. That was rare and he loved that it was something he said that made her that way. Enjoying the silence he took a few bites of his vegetables, while just staring in her eyes. And she stared back and without further words, they knew exactly how the other one felt.

They finished their dinner while talking about less serious things. About Lucan trying to stand up in his playpen and how long it will take for him to stand up. And how fast he's growing up. About Rory and Warren. And they didn't feel boring talking about their family, they felt blessed with their family, and it was a subject they couldn't share better with anyone else than each other. With someone who you know feels the exact same way and loves to listen to what you are saying. Who doesn't care that you once again start talking about your kids and what they learned or are trying to learn. Of course Lorelai had Sookie to talk to about this stuff, but she had her own kids and it wasn't the same as talking to Luke, and as for Luke, sometimes when his customers saw him with Lucan they asked a few questions, but it wasn't the same as talking to Lorelai. It definitely wasn't the same.

-xxxxxx-

It was 11.30 when Luke and Lorelai arrived home. They missed the movie because they spend a long time talking in the restaurant, but they didn't really care. It wasn't as if they saw enough movies already anyway. After they finished eating they drove around for a while and ended up in a park and walked around there for a while, talking more.

"I wonder if my parents are still awake." Lorelai whispered, afraid to wake up her parents if they were still asleep.

"Let's go see. Hand me your coat, then you go check up on them."

She handed him her coat and walked into the living room. She stood in the door opening and smiled at the sight in front of her. Richard was asleep in the armchair, and Emily was lying on the couch, with Lucan on her chest. Luke showed up behind her, putting his arms around her waist and she leaned into his chest.

"I'm not sure what I expected when I walked in here, but this definitely was not it." She looked up at him and stole a quick kiss. "We better wake them. They still have to drive all the way home."

Luke nodded and let go of her waist so she could step away.

Lorelai walked to the couch and kneeled down in front of it. "Mom, wake up."

"Ummm…" Emily replied.

"Mom, wake up. You have to go home."

Emily slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times to remember where she was.

"Careful, Lucan is laying there. We don't want him to wake up now." Lorelai whispered.

"Can you take him?"

"Sure. Just open your arms." She carefully picked up her son and handed him to Luke. "Here, you put him back in his bed."

"Be right back."

"What happened mom?" Lorelai asked when Luke walked up the stairs.

"He woke up crying and he didn't want to go back to sleep, so I took him downstairs. We watched some TV. Nothing scary, some kind of cartoon. I guess we both fell asleep." She sat up and saw that Richard was still asleep. "I guess we all fell asleep."

"We better wake him up. You still have to drive back all the way to Hartford."

"Yeah, we should do that." She stared at Lorelai for a while.

"What is it mom?"

"I just want you to know how much it means to me that you let me babysit your son tonight. I know that you would have preferred to have Rory babysit him, but it really means so much to me that you let me come instead. I had a wonderful time."

"I'm glad you wanted to come mom. I had a great time too. It's been so long that we did this, Luke and I. And I forgot how it used to be. I love spending time at home with Lucan, but it's nice to just spend some time together. Just like we did before he was born."

"I know. I would love to babysit for you again, if you and Luke want to go out a little more often."

"That would be nice." Lorelai smiled and Emily smiled back.

"If you wake up dad, I'll go check up those two guys of mine. Just see what's taking Luke so long."

Emily nodded.

Lorelai walked upstairs into Lucan's room. She saw him watching in the crib. "Hey, what's taking so long?"

"I was just watching him."

"Come downstairs. My parents are leaving."

"Okay." He took her hand in his and they went downstairs together to say goodbye to Richard and Emily.

"Drive safe dad. There's a little ice on the roads."

"I'll be careful Lorelai." He pulled his daughter in a hug. "Thank you for letting your mother babysit tonight." He whispered in her ear.

"It was my pleasure." Lorelai whispered back. Then she let go of her father and hugged her mother. "Thanks again mom."

"You're welcome Lorelai. And remember, I'd love to do it again."

"I will keep it in mind."

"Goodbye Richard, Emily. Thank you for helping us out tonight."

"Our pleasure Luke." They shook hands and with that they walked away.

"Uh… I'm tired." Lorelai leaned against her husband when she closed the front door.

"Really, I wouldn't have noticed. Let's get to bed."

"Yeah lets."

They walked up the stairs together and ten minutes later they lay in bed, cuddled up.

"What were you thinking when you were in Lucan's room earlier?"

He smiled slightly. "After all the talk about changing, I couldn't help but think that there was a day I never thought I would have a kid. I really didn't like kids."

"The jam hands." She smiled.

"Yeah the jam hands. But sometime in the period I knew you, I started liking the thought of having a kid sometime, you know. I saw how you were with Rory and even though she was older already, I just couldn't help but think that it was nice."

"It is."

"Yeah, well anyway. I know I changed a lot since I met you, but I changed the most the moment you told me I was becoming a father."

"You were so freaked out at first."

"Just because I was speechless. I didn't see it coming and I still feel bad for the way I took it at first, but I was really happy, you know?"

"I do."

"Good. So, you're right. Changing is good."

"Told you so." She closed her eyes as she snuggled even further into his chest.


	7. Emily's Christmas party

_A/N: Once again thanks to my wonderful beta LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict! And thanks to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter! With Christmas coming up, I decided to go into that direction, with Emily's Christmas party first. Let me know if you liked it! _

**Chapter 7 Emily's Christmas party **

"Hey, Luke? Do you want to go shopping this afternoon?"

"Do we have too?"

"Well, you know my mother's Christmas party is on Friday, and we still need new clothes."

"Can't I just wear my suit?"

"Yes you can, but you need a new shirt and a new tie."

"I have to wear a tie?" He sighed annoyed, knowing there was no way he could get out of it.

"Sorry babe. And Lucan has no fancy clothes and I'm in desperate need for a new dress."

"Can't you just go with Rory or with Sookie, and bring me something? That will be much more fun for you."

"Come on Luke. I want to go with you. It's been forever since we went shopping together." She pouted, knowing that would help her.

"You said Lucan needs some new clothes?" As if it was okay if it was for his son.

"Yes he does." She smiled, knowing that she won.

An hour later they were at the mall. Lucan was asleep in his stroller and Lorelai was pushing, Luke walking next to her with a hand on her lower back. Everybody around them could see that they were a happy family.

"Where do you want to go first?" Luke asked.

"We could go in here." They were standing at the entrance of a store with men's wear.

"Sure. Let's get this over with."

They walked in and Lorelai started looking for shirts, and Luke just followed her, knowing that she would decide what he's going to wear anyway. There was absolutely no reason for him to be there, when it came to picking out clothes, but he loved spending the afternoon with her and their son, no matter what they were doing. That's why he didn't fight harder to get out of it.

"How about this one?" She lifted up a red one.

"Do you like it?"

"Not what I asked. But yes I do."

"Then that one it is."

"Don't you want to look around a little more? In case you see something better?"

"Whatever you want is fine, really."

"Then I have to find a dress first, and we can get you a shirt that matches, so that they can see we belong together."

"They already know that. We've been married for almost a year now. We have a son. People know we are together."

"But still, it's nice if the colors of our clothes match."

"Then we do that."

After being in five stores Lorelai still hadn't found something she liked for herself. She looked at Luke, knowing he hated shopping, especially at malls, but she loved that he wanted to spend time with her, even if it was doing something he hated. "Let's check this store. I bought a very nice dress here last year."

"Sure, let's go in."

Lorelai looked through the racks, not really impressed, until she saw a beautiful long red dress. "I want to try that one." She looked at the sizes and took the one she needed and led Luke towards the changing rooms.

He sat down on one of the stools, pulling the stroller next to him, and he waited patiently for her to change into the dress. When she came out 5 minutes later his mouth almost dropped open. "Wow."

She smiled. "You like it?"

"Love it. You should definitely get it."

"Glad we agree." She looked at herself in the mirror and turned around to look how it fell around her curves. It fit perfect and she was impressed. "Let me change back in my regular clothes. We'll go back to the first store to buy you the dark red shirt since it fits perfectly with the dress, and then all we need is something for Lucan and a tie for you."

Lorelai had even more trouble finding something for Lucan. She definitely did not want her almost ten month old son wearing a suit, so she had to settle for something still fancy, but not too much. Luke saw at least 10 things he liked, but it wasn't good enough for her. "It's his first Christmas party, and the first time a lot of these people will see him. I want him to look perfect."

Luke just smiled as they walked into another store. They were running out of stores where they sell kids clothes so he hoped they'd find something soon. "How about these pants?"

Lorelai looked at them. They were dark brown, cord. "Could be an option, but he needs something on top of it. She looked at sweaters but didn't like any of them. "Let's just go okay? I'll try again tomorrow."

"No, we're not leaving before we find something. Let's check here. He walked to another rack and saw shirts. He picked up a beige one. "How about this?"

"It's too cold." Although she liked it.

"He just needs something over it."

She turned around and saw pullovers. She smiled as she found a brown one, with a gray stripe. "Like this?"

"Yeah, I like that. And it will fit perfect with the pants we saw earlier."

"And it's cool and fancy. I like it."

"Good."

They paid for the clothes and went back to the first store to pick up the shirt and to see if they had nice ties. "What kind of tie do you want?"

"Preferably none, but since that's no option, you just pick."

There was a wide selection but there were only a few Lorelai liked and even less which matched with the shirt. "You can pick between this one and this one." She holds up two. "I like both of them."

"The right one." It was silver-gray with a matching dark red stripe.

"Then that one it is." She hung back the other one and walked to the register. "See, shopping isn't that bad."

Luke smiled. "No, it isn't."

-xxxxxx-  
Luke and Lorelai were standing at the front door of the Gilmore house. Luke was holding Lucan. They were all dressed up in the clothes they bought earlier that week for the annual Christmas Party. "So, this is your first Christmas party." Lorelai told her son.

"You've told him that at least ten times already, will you just ring the bell?"

"Yeah yeah." She pressed the bell and it didn't take long before Emily opened the door.

"Lorelai, you're finally here."

"Sorry we're a little late mom, but we had to feed Lucan before we came here."

"Well, it doesn't matter, come in. Rory and Warren are already here."

Lorelai handed her mother her coat and took Lucan over from Luke so he could take of his coat. He already helped their son.

"You're dressed up nice" Emily smiled at her grandson.

"I'm glad you like it mom." Lorelai was happy she approved of the clothes they had bought for Lucan.

"Let's get inside, I want everybody to meet my grandson." She held her arms out to Lucan, but he held on to his mother tight. It wasn't that he didn't want to go to his grandmother, but he heard a lot of strange noises and didn't want to leave the safe arms of his mother.

"Maybe later mom. He just has to get used to the crowd."

"He sees strange people all the time when you take him to work."

"True, but not so many people at the time, so it's different for him. Just give him some time, okay?"

Emily nodded. "Well, let's go inside. Your father is waiting for us."

They all followed Emily inside and it didn't take long before they spotted Rory and Warren talking to Richard. They joined their small group. They all said their hellos and when Rory held her arms out to her little brother, he refused, just as he had with Emily before, making Emily feel a little better.

"Is he alright, mom?"

"He's a little shy. There are just a little too many strangers for him right now."

"Like he's not in the diner for the dinner crowd."

"True, but they are mostly the same people, and he's usually in his playpen or on Luke's or my arms. Don't think he holds his arms out to just anybody."

"So he is shy huh." Rory smiled.

"He must have gotten that from Luke." Richard said. "Lorelai was always willing to go with everyone. We had to be sure to keep her with us, otherwise we'd lose her."

Luke looked amused and Lorelai just shrugged her shoulders. They couldn't go on about it any longer, as they were interrupted by one of Emily's DAR friends.

"Emily, is that your grandson?"

"It sure is." Emily replied proud. You remember my daughter Lorelai and her husband Luke, right? And this is my granddaughter Rory and her boyfriend Warren."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Gloria."

"Nice to meet you." Warren replied kindly.

"Oh, hear that wonderful British accent. Rory, where did you find this young man?"

"I studied with him in London. He came to America to study at Yale for a year with me."

"Rory, I think you have to show Warren the apple-tarts. You've been talking about them for weeks."

"I will. Come on Warren," Rory didn't even comment that it was her mother talking about them. She was happy to get Warren out of the hands of Gloria before she started asking more uncomfortable questions.

Of course this left Lorelai and Luke alone with the woman, since Emily and Richard excused themselves to talk to some other friends. "How long have you been married now Lorelai? Emily said it was a wonderful wedding. We were kind of sad we weren't invited."

"We've been married for almost a year now. It was planned rather quickly so it wasn't very big. But I'm sure my mother showed you all the pictures."

"You've had a wonderful dress." Gloria smiled and then excused herself to talk to some of her friends.

"Why did we have to come here again?" Luke asked.

"Fortunately there aren't many parties like this we have to attend. If it wasn't for the apple-tarts, I would try hard to get out of it." Lorelai took Luke's hand in his and squeezed it. "Let's see what Rory is doing, okay?"

-xxxxxx-  
After dinner they were in the living room. Lorelai was getting herself a drink, while Luke was talking to Warren about some guy stuff. Before Lorelai realized it her aunt Marilyn walked towards her. "Hello Lorelai."

"Aunt Marilyn." Lorelai nodded polite.

"Where's that gorgeous son of yours? I haven't seen him in a while."

"We put him to bed upstairs. He was very tired."

"He's getting so big."

"Yeah he is. He's almost ten months now."

"He looks so much like his father."

"Yes he does." Lorelai replied proudly.

"So, when will his brother or sister be born?"

"What? I'm not pregnant."

"I know that dear. But isn't it time?"

"Uhm.. there's time."

Before Lorelai realized there were more woman joining them, mostly friends of Emily. "So Lorelai, are you and Luke thinking about having another child?"

"Well eh…" Lorelai replied uncomfortable.

"You have to think about it now. You're not getting any younger, and Rory is already raised as an only child, you don't want the same for your son too, now want you?"

"He has a sister so that won't happen." Lorelai defended herself.

"He has a sister who is twenty years older than him. It's not the same. Kids need someone to grow up together."

"Rory turned out just fine, and so did I. I'm an only child if you remember correctly." Lorelai looked around, searching for Luke. He was still talking to Warren and didn't notice all the woman attacking her with questions.

"But it's selfish to not think about it. My two children are only a year apart. They had such a good time growing up together."

"And now they don't even speak to each other." Lorelai replied bitterly. "As I remember correctly they were always fighting when we were kids."

"But still, they had always someone to turn to."

"And so has my son. He can always go to his sister, or to me or Luke."

"It's not the same. I had a sister who was only a year younger than me, we had a great time growing up together." One of the other women threw in.

"Emily is so proud. She never stops talking about her grandchildren. Why don't you want to give her another one?"

"That's none of your business." Lorelai tried to walk past them, but the group was too big, and they didn't let her go.

"You're so selfish Lorelai. You're only thinking about yourself and not about others. I'm sure you have an amazing job, but you're not getting any younger, so if you don't do it now you may never." Her aunt said. "You know your mother would love another grandchild and so would your father. You're a disappointment to them Lorelai. You've been disappointing them all your life, and you're doing it again. But this time you're not only disappointing them, you're disappointing your own son."

Normally Lorelai wouldn't have cared so much what others had to say, but this was a touchy subject and they were hurting her. "I don't care what you think. Why don't you all mind your own business." She gave one of them women a push so she could get past them and ran up the stairs.

Everybody heard Lorelai's last words as she raised her voice, and they were all staring at her when she ran upstairs. Emily was about to follow her daughter upstairs when Luke placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now is not the time. I'll go talk to her. You have to stay with your guests."

"But she's showing inappropriate behavior once again. My daughter never changes."

"Don't say that. You don't know what happened so don't judge her until you do. I'm sure she will tell you later if you stay calm. If you go talk to your friends over there about what happened, then I'll go upstairs and talk to my wife." Then he stepped towards Rory and whispered "I'm going after your mom. Please make sure your grandmother stays downstairs."

"I will."

Luke walked upstairs and stood still in front of Lorelai's room. He knew that's where she was hiding. He knocked softly on the door. "Go away." He could hear that she was upset and opened the door slowly. "I said go away."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh Luke." She was lying on the bed, her face facing away from him. Even from behind he could see she was crying.

He walked towards the bed and sat down behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What happened, Lorelai?"

She just shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

To give her some time he lay down behind her, not caring about to take off his shoes, and put his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his chest.

"You're going to wrinkle your suit."

"I don't care." He placed a kiss on the back of her head. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. You know that. I thought it was going okay, besides from that incident with Rory in the beginning."

"You left me alone. You walked away from me, feeding me to the dogs."

"What?"

She took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm herself down. "They were all over me. Aunt Marilyn, and some of those stupid DAR friends of my mom. They kept going on and on about how Lucan should have a brother or a sister and that I'm selfish."

"But I don't understand. We're trying to have another kid."

"They don't know that. I don't want them to know that."

"So you let them go on and on about this? I don't understand Lorelai."

She turned in his arms, not liking that she was talking to him without facing him. "You and I and Rory are the only ones who know about us trying to have another kid. I don't want everybody else to know, just incase."

"In case what?"

"I don't get pregnant."

"It's been three months. There's enough time."

"I know that Luke. But they just went on and on and I couldn't get away from them, and you didn't notice it and my mom was… wherever she was, so I couldn't get anywhere. And I didn't know what to say so of course I said the wrong things. But if I had said that we're trying, they would have asked why I wasn't pregnant now, and they still would have said I was letting everybody down, just like now."

"You're not letting anybody down." He lifted her chin so he could look straight in her eyes. "I'm so sorry I didn't notice they were all over you. I won't ever step away from you again." He wiped away her tears with his thumbs and kissed her lips.

"Thanks." She placed her head on his shoulder. They stayed that way for a long time. Neither of them knew how long it had been before there was a knock on the door. "We're coming."

"Lorelai, can I come in?"

"Mom?"

Luke gave her an apologetic look. "I told her to stay away."

"It's okay. Do you mind checking up on Lucan? I don't want him to wake up without him knowing where he is."

"Of course."

Luke opened the door and let Emily in. "I'm going to check up on Lucan. I'll meet you downstairs?" He looked at Lorelai who nodded.

"Lorelai, can I come in?"

Lorelai sat up on the bed. "Sure. It's your house."

"It has always been. But you still wouldn't let me into your room."

Lorelai smiled. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Me too."

"Sit down." She patted on the bed next to her.

Emily smiled and accepted the offer. She sat down next to her daughter and tried to remember how long it was since they were in this room together. Probably when Lorelai was like 6 or 7 years old and Emily still brought her to bed. "I'm sorry for what happened downstairs. I talked to them and they told me what a shame it is that you're not thinking about having another kid now."

"It wasn't your fault."

"They are my friends aren't they? I'm so sorry Lorelai. I know how much you and Luke talked about this subject."

"Luke asked me why I didn't just tell them. In any other circumstances I would have, but I knew they would tell me that I was letting you down, and Luke and Lucan, and dad. I know they still did it this way, but somehow it didn't hurt as much because I know the truth. And I know you do, and Rory, and Luke. And Lucan is too small to even understand."

"What do you mean, other circumstances?" Emily knew there was more to this.

Lorelai sighed. "I was three days late. I was trying to find the courage to buy a pregnancy test, but then I got my period. For three days I was thinking that I maybe was pregnant and all that hope was gone when I felt the cramping starting." She stared at the sheets next to her. She was so disappointed in herself. Why did she get her hopes up? Why wasn't she pregnant? Why couldn't she give Lucan another sister, or a brother. She wanted it so badly.

"When your father and I got married we decided that we wanted to have a kid. I knew that we were still young, but we both wanted it so badly." Lorelai looked up at her mother. "We stopped with birth control on our wedding night and I thought that it wouldn't take long to get pregnant. But month after month I got my period. Almost a year went by and nothing happened. Your father was very supportive, but inside I was hurting so badly and I didn't let him know that. I was so disappointed in myself. I knew how much your father wanted a kid, and I couldn't give him that. I started doubting everything. I doubted whether or not I was a good wife, and I started doubting my own body. I was thinking about seeing a doctor, but then on our first wedding anniversary I found out I was pregnant with you. It was the best day of my life and the best anniversary present I ever got."

"You had sex before you got married?" Lorelai's eyes started shining.

"Of everything I told you, that you have to comment?" Emily sounded annoying, but knew that this was her daughter. And for once she was happy Lorelai was making a joke.

"You never told me that mom." Now talking about how long it took Emily to get pregnant with her, and Emily knew that.

"The only person I ever told was your father. Everybody was asking questions. Why wasn't I pregnant yet? I was married and I should give your father a child. That hurt so much, so I know how it must have felt when those women where harassing you downstairs. I told them to leave."

"You what?"

"I told them that if they thought I would be disappointed in you, they didn't know me. And Christmas is something you spend with the people you love. I did not want them to be there."

"You told your DAR friends to leave? That's probably not the last you'll hear of it."

"I don't care. I care about you Lorelai, and they pretend to be my friends, but when I was in the hospital I never even saw them. I tried to get back in contact with them after I got better, but now I realize I don't need them."

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing on Christmas?"

"I don't know."

"Last year we celebrated Christmas here, with you and dad. But I was hoping that this year you'd be coming to our house. I want Lucan to celebrate his first Christmas at home. I was actually hoping that you and dad could come to our house on Christmas eve. I usually watch a lot of old Christmas movies with Rory, and we might play some games. Then we go to bed and on Christmas morning we'll be opening all the Christmas presents. I thought it would be nice if you were there too. You can buy some presents for your grandkids, and we'll be buying some for you. I know we brought you something today, but it's not the same."

"I would love that. It's the best invitation for Christmas I have ever had."

"Good. I'll give you all the details later, since we have 3 more weeks. But just one thing, you can't spend more than 100 dollars on the gifts."

"Per person?"

"Let's make it 50 dollars per person and you got yourself a deal."

Emily smiled. "Let's go downstairs. I'm sure everybody is wondering where we are."

"I'm sure they are. And mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome Lorelai."

When Emily went downstairs, Lorelai walked to one of the bathrooms to fix her make-up. When she came downstairs a few minutes later, she noticed that the women in question and their husbands were indeed gone. She didn't see her aunt Marilyn either, so she assumed her mother sent her away as well. She smiled. Then she walked further and was met by Luke. "You okay?"

"Absolutely. My parents are going to spend Christmas with us. Are you okay with that?"

"Of course. It's that a day you're supposed to spend with family."

"You remember last week when we talked about changes?"

"Of course."

"I think the relationship I have with my mother changed even more than everything else. We've been through so much the past year, and it was really bad, but somehow I'm glad we went through it, because without that, I don't think we'd be here right now, the way we are. Of course we would have been here, but not like this. You know?"

"I do." He squeezed her hand. "I do."

-xxxxxx-  
Luke heard crying coming from the baby monitor he had in his pocket. "I think our son is awake."

"I'll go." Lorelai didn't gave him a change to protest as she walked upstairs into the room where her son was sleeping. He was crying furiously. She picked him up and held him close. "Mommy's here. Don't worry, mommy's here." It didn't take long before he calmed down. She looked at him and realized he wouldn't go back to sleep soon, so she just took him out of his sleeping bag, and put his socks back on. She had changed him into pajamas when she put him to bed, but didn't felt like changing him again. She put his stuff in his backpack and took it downstairs.

"Hey, he's awake." Rory looked at her little brother.

"He sure is. He was all alone upstairs and he didn't like it, so I decided to take him downstairs."

"It must be pretty scary all alone up there, in this big room. Of course he's here every week, but still."

Lorelai smiled. "Where's Luke?"

"Talking to grandpa over there."

"And Warren?"

"Kitchen."

"Why?"

"Getting a bottle for Lucan."

"Oh okay. And your grandma?"

"Over there. Talking to one of her friends."

"Okay. I'll go tell her Lucan is awake."

Rory nodded. "Then I'll check if Warren found the way to the kitchen."

"You better do that." Lorelai smiled and walked towards her mother. "Look who's awake."

"Hey Lucan." Emily smiled at her grandson, who once again placed his head on his mother's shoulder, not wanting to go to his grandmother.

"Hello Lorelai. Your son got so big. I remember last year at the Christmas party you were still pregnant."

"Oh yeah. And I had quite a while to go then. He's born at the end of February, so he's 9 and a half months now."

"Time goes so fast. They're all grown up before you know it. You better enjoy him now he's still little. He's out of the house before you know it."

"I hope time won't go that fast. Although, when I look at Rory I have no idea where the time went."

"That's right, you have a kid in college yourself. Wasn't she in England last year?"

"Yeah she was. She's been in London for a year. She came back last June."

"So that boy with that gorgeous British accent must be her boyfriend then."

"He sure is. He came with her to study at Yale for a year. I'm not sure where they will be next year, but I'm sure they'll figure something out."

"I'm sure they will. But don't think about that now. The time is going fast enough as it is. Just keep that boy of yours to yourself for a while. I can't believe there was a time when I didn't have to share my son and I was the most important person in his life. Now he has three girlfriends at a time."

"Oh, a real heartbreaker."

"Yes, he is. I have no idea where he got that, but hopefully he will grow up. I still have hope."

"I think things change when he runs into the right one. Just bare until then."

"I hope he'll find her soon then."

Lorelai smiled. "I'm glad my son looks like his father then."

"But I can see you in him too."

"Really?"

"He looks like his father, but he has your shining eyes."

Emily listened to the conversation in silence, glad that she still had some friends who could be nice. Friends who did visited her in the hospital, and stepped by occasionally after she was released from the hospital. There weren't many, but she learned that it doesn't matter how many friends you have, because only the real ones matter. It's better to have one friend who cares, than 20 who don't. She had thrown many parties since she married Richard, but she couldn't help and think that this one was the best one she ever had, even with the whole Lorelai situation. Right now only the people she really liked where left. Some of her and Richard's friends, and her family. And she promised herself that those were the people she wanted to spend time with. Why waste your energy on people who don't really want to spend time with you, or think they know you when they don't at all? And especially during this time of the year. Even if it's three weeks before Christmas, it is a Christmas party. And all Christmas is about, is spending time with the people you love.


	8. Holidays spend as a family

_A/N: Happy New Year to all of you! I hope your holidays were as great as mine were. There's a reason I didn't update until now. First of all, before the holidays, I had a paper to finish. Even though I started early enough, in the end it always takes a lot of time. I wonder why… But I finished it, and I'm more than happy with the result. I turned it in yesterday and my trainee supervisor was impressed when she just hold it in her hands. I guess that's one thing for layout. Hopefully she'll like the inside as much as the outside, but I guess I have to wait a few days before I know for sure. And if she approves of what I've written I can give it to my teacher when he comes for the end evaluation two weeks from now.  
I started writing this chapter right after I finished the other one, ready to write another holiday chapter. The plan was to post it on Christmas morning, but unfortunately that didn't quite worked out. In my last chapter I wrote how important it is to celebrate Christmas with your family. And at first I was planning to stay in Norway with Christmas, and to celebrate it with my friend and her parents, who were coming over. But more and more I felt like going home, so one day I decided to buy a ticket. I didn't anyone at home, besides my sister and her boyfriend. My sister promised to pick me up at the airport, and her boyfriend, who lives half way between the airport and our house, would step in the train with us. So on Friday the 23rd I stepped in a plane once again and flew to Amsterdam. My sister was already waiting by the exit and we took the train to a town close from our home. Normally my mother picks my sister and her boyfriend up, but this time she told my parents that our brother would pick us up instead, because she had a Christmas present and it wasn't fun if my parents wouldn't see it together. So my mother accepted it and stayed up waiting for them to come home. She and my father were in the living room watching TV while my sister, her boyfriend and my brother walked in. I walked in as well, unbeknownst to them of course. I waited in the living room for the sign my sister would give me. Impatiently, of course. First they told a whole story about the train (some idiot tried to jump in last minute and got stuck with his leg between the door what gave us a 20 minute delay) they asked if they wanted to have their Christmas present now. At that moment I literally jumped into the living room surprising both my parents. Shock was registered on their faces as their mouth dropped open, and after it sunk in they both started crying. Without a doubt one of the best moments ever!_ _So, I thought that being home, away from work and with my paper finished, I'd have enough time to finish my chapter, but really that didn't work. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my parents and my friends, and therefore everything else, including this chapter, went into the background. Soon the deadline I set in my mind passed and the same for my other deadline, new years eve. And before I knew it I was back in a plane towards Oslo. And from that moment I spend as much time as possible finishing this chapter, making it extra long in the process. Of course the theme stayed the holidays, but I hope that this once again will bring the holiday spirit back, since we have to wait for almost a year now. In a way nice that the calm in life is back, but on the other way also sad, because it definitely is a special time! And I can write forever, but since this note is almost a page long already, and the story itself is long enough, I'll stop after saying 2 more things. First of all, because it took me so long to finish this chapter, I decided to leave it unbetad. To my beta I want to say, I will send you the next chapter and I hope you're not angry I posted this one without your wonderful feedback, which I highly appreciate by the way, but my readers deserved a new chapter and waiting even longer would definitely set off the theme of this chapter. Then second, as always, I want to thank all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter. My new years resolution is to start replying to reviews, because I like it when people do it to the once I post. So leave a signed review or your email address if you want some of my crazy comments ;) _

**Chapter 8 Holidays spend as a family **

**_24th of December, early afternoon_**

Lorelai was wearing old clothes and had a rolled up tea towel wrapped around her hair. She had the whole house to herself. Luke had taken Lucan to the diner, and Rory and Warren went to the lake for a walk. She was in the kitchen, refilling a bucket with water and soap. She wanted the house to look perfect. It wasn't the first time her parents were coming here, but it was the first time they were staying over. And she didn't want to give her mother any reason to pull a fight. The following evening and day meant too much to her.

With a sigh she picked up the bucket and walked to the living room, starting the dust the desk and everything on, and then moving on to the photo's hanging on the walls. She already cleaned the entire upper floor, and the living room was the first room downstairs she started with. There were many things left to do before her parents came, and she wasn't closed to being finished. Luke had offered to help her, and even told her it wasn't necessary to clean everything, but she refused. When he mentioned that she hated cleaning she replied that it was true, but she was a maid once, so she knows how to do it. And once in a while it is necessary to clean thoroughly.

When she finished the living room, she moved over to the kitchen. She just started cleaning the doors of the cabinets when Luke walked in. "Hey."

"Your home early." She didn't look up from her work.

"I came to drop of Lucan. I have to drive to Hartford to pick up some things for dinner."

"Can't you take him with me." She put pressure on her rag, trying to remove some grease.

"He's been kind of cranky. I'll put him to bed and he won't be any trouble to you. I promise."

"You've said that before. You promised to take care of him today Luke. I have to get the house clean."

"The house looks fine."

"No it doesn't. Upstairs, yes, living room, besides the floor, yes, but I just started with the kitchen, and I still have to get Rory's room and the toilet done."

"Rory's room?"

"That's where my parents are staying Luke. Rory and Warren will be sleeping on an air mattress in Lucan's room, and he will sleep with us. You already know all of this."

"I do. But why are you stressing so much? Your parents have been here before, and it's not like the house is a mess. Plus, you hate cleaning. For years you cleaned your house with spit and the sleeves of your shirts."

"I was a maid Luke. I know how to clean. We've been through this earlier this morning."

"I know you were a maid, but I still don't know how."

"Hey, I was the best maid Mia had. I cleaned the rooms in half the time the other maids did, and good if I might add."

"Then what happened?" He had a smirk on his face.

She knew that he was teasing her, but she was too annoyed to play along. "When I worked myself up I had cleaned so much I didn't like it anymore. But do you mind leaving me alone, you're distracting me. You better go to Hartford now before the stores are closed."

"What about Lucan?"

"Put him in bed, but if he's cranky you won't hear the last of it."

"You're the best." He walked towards her and placed a kiss on her sweaty forehead.

"Yeah yeah, now leave."

"Bye." She heard Luke yell 5 minutes later.

"Bye." She yelled back, right before she heard the front door close. She was finished with the cabinets and went on to the stove. Lucky for her Luke cleaned it every night after he cooked, so it wasn't too much work. After the stove she cleaned the counter and the sink, the kitchen table, and then moved on to Rory's room. She dusted everything, even the outside of all her books. And then she let herself fall down on the bed. 'What was she doing?' Cleaning was one thing, but it was like she was obsessed. But still she couldn't stop. Sitting down didn't feel good, and she had to continue. She couldn't stop before the house was completely clean.

An hour later she turned of the vacuum cleaner and started to mop the kitchen floor. She sat down on her hands and knees and cleaned the floor step by step. Once again she asked herself what she was doing. After the floor was done, she ended up in Rory's room, and started making up the bed. She made sure there was not a single wrinkle. She had to redo the bed at least 5 times before she was satisfied.

Lorelai sank down on the floor in front of the bed, waiting for the kitchen floor to dry. She started thinking when the last time she cleaned the house this thoroughly was. And suddenly she knew. 'But it's not possible.' She thought to herself. 'It's not possible.' She closed her eyes and tried to think of another time. There wasn't any.…

She stood up, suddenly not caring anymore about the still wet kitchen floor. She almost ran up the stairs and into Lucan's room. The little boy was still asleep. She didn't had the heart to wake him up, knowing he would be even more cranky than he already was before. Lucky for her the front door open and she heard Luke's voice calling her name. She ran downstairs. "Can you look after Lucan for me?"

"Sure, but where are you going?"

"I just have to buy something."

"And you couldn't tell me before?"

"Sorry. I didn't thought of it then."

"Fine. Is he still asleep?"

"Yeah. He looks pretty beaten so he won't be any trouble soon. You can focus on whatever you want, which is probably dinner. See you later." She planted a kiss on his lips and turned around to get her coat.

"Don't you want to change?"

"No time." She put on her coat and picked up her purse, digging for her car keys. "Bye."

"Bye." When the front door closed in front of him he stood still in surprise, not knowing what got into Lorelai all the sudden. He raised his shoulders and walked into the kitchen to put his groceries away.

**_24th of December, late afternoon_**

Lorelai walked back into the house around 4.30. She took in a deep breath through her nose, and inhaled scents that were coming from the kitchen. With a smile she hung up her coat and her purse, and walked into the kitchen, carrying a brown paper bag. "What smells so good?"

"Oh hey." Luke looked up from whatever he was cutting. "Where have you been?"

"I had to pick this up." She showed him the paper bag.

"What's in it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." She gave him a devilish smile.

"Lorelai." He sighed.

"Oh, someone's curious. Come and give me a kiss and I'll tell you."

"Why don't you bring me that kiss?"

"Because you want to know what's in this bag."

"Fine." He put his knife down and walked to his wife. He tried to give her a quick kiss, but she wouldn't let him pull away. "Wow." It was the only thing he could get out a few minutes later, when she finally let him go. When he caught his breath he asked. "Where was that for?"

"Here." She handed him the paper bag.

He opened it, taking out a box. He raised his eyebrows. "But?" He looked up at his smiling wife. "What is it?"

"Can't you read?"

"Yes, I can read. But what does it mean? Did you?"

She nodded.

"Are you?"

She nodded again. "Open it."

He opened the box and took out the stick. He looked at it and saw two pink lines. "You're pregnant?"

"That's what the test says."

"But I don't understand. You got your period like 3 weeks ago?"

"That obviously wasn't my period. It wasn't the same as it usually was, but I did not realize it until know. Sometimes you can bleed a little in the first month, that's totally normal. It doesn't have to happen, but sometimes it does. Of course we still have to go to doctor Elder to confirm it, but I bought three test, did all three of them and they all said the same. I brought only this one to show you, the rest I threw away."

"You're pregnant." It wasn't a question now, it was a statement.

"Yes."

He took a step forward and enveloped her in his arms, hugging her tight. "We're getting another baby."

She just nodded and pulled away a little so she could kiss him again. When they pulled apart a few tears had appeared in her eyes. "I'm sorry I did the tests without you, but I couldn't wait until I was home. I drove all the way to Hartford because I didn't want anyone in town to know. There are enough rumors already. And I know I should have told you before I left, but I didn't want to get your hopes up too."

"It's okay. I'm happy Lorelai, and you told me immediately anyway."

"So you're not angry?"

"How could I be?" He kissed her again. Then they heard crying coming from the living room, where Lucan was sitting in his playpen. He was obviously feeling left out.

Lorelai walked towards her son and picked him up. "You're going to be a big brother. But it's a secret so you can't tell anyone yet."

"Dadadada." Was all he said back.

"Yeah your dada knows."

"What does his dada knows?" Rory asked, when they walked in.

"That Lucan is a very big boy. How was your walk?"

"It was great. The lake is completely frozen and with the snow the sight was beautiful. Although it was very cold. Do you think we can convince Luke to give us some coffee?"

"You ask him. I'm going upstairs to take a shower."

"You don't want coffee?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just behind on my schedule and I want to be ready when your grandparents get here. And since we all have to shower, it's just easier if I go first. Then I can feed Lucan while you're taking a shower."

"Fine, go."

Lorelai handed Lucan to Rory and walked upstairs. "So, what does your daddy know huh?"

"Dadadadada." Lucan responded.

"Don't try to get any information out of him." Luke said. While Lorelai talked to Rory and Warren, he hid the box with the pregnancy test somewhere in the kitchen, in a place he knew they wouldn't find it.

**_Christmas eve_**

"Luke, can you open the door?" Lorelai yelled from upstairs.

"Fine." He walked towards the front door and opened it. "Hello Richard, Emily."

"Hello Luke."

Luke stepped aside to let his in-laws inside. "Lorelai is still upstairs, but she's almost ready."

"Can we put the presents under the tree?"

"Yes, of course. You do that, then I'll check up on dinner. It should be ready within 10 minutes."

When Luke walked towards the kitchen, Richard and Emily walked into the living room. They were putting the presents under the tree when Lorelai walked downstairs with Lucan in her arms. "Hey mom, dad."

"Hello Lorelai."

"I think dinner is ready in a few minutes. Did you put your presents under the tree?"

"We did Lorelai."

"I hope you kept our deal."

"I did Lorelai."

"Good." They all smiled. Lorelai couldn't help but feel nervous. This was the first time in a very long time they will spend Christmas as a family.

"Hey grandma, grandpa." Rory walked in the room.

"Rory. What a wonderful dress you're wearing."

"Thanks grandma."

"Hello Rory. Warren." Richard smiled.

"Dinner is ready." Luke called from the kitchen. Lorelai felt relieved. Her parents were in the house for at least 5 minutes already and all they said was hello.

They all walked into the kitchen and took seats at the big kitchen table. They replaced Lorelai's old table with a new one during the summer. With only Rory and Warren there were enough seats, but they couldn't have any other quests. And knowing it wouldn't take long before Lucan was big enough to sit at the table in a high chair, they decided to buy a new one. They haven't bought a lot of new furniture since Luke moved in. Most of their stuff was a mix of the things Lorelai had and the things Luke had, but slowly pieces of furniture were replaced with things they both liked.

"That smells absolutely wonderful Luke." Emily sounded honest.

"Hopefully it will taste that way too."

"I'm sure it will." Richard and Emily were sitting at the heads of the table, Luke and Lorelai on one side, with Lucan next to Lorelai in his high chair and Rory and Warren at the other side.

"Richard do you want the honor?" Luke was holding a knife to cut the turkey.

"I feel very honored son, but that is your job. You do it."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Thanks." Luke cut the turkey and put some on everybody's plates. Besides turkey there were beans and carrots and sweet potatoes and a lot more. When everybody had enough on their plates they started eating.

"I can't remember the last time we spent Christmas eve together Lorelai." Richard said.

"It must have been when I was 16. A few months later I ran away from home.

"No it wasn't." Emily said.

Lorelai looked up.

"You know it just as well as I do Lorelai. Your father decided to spent Christmas in Paris that year. The last time we spent Christmas as a family was the year before that. You wanted to spend Christmas with some friends that year, but we didn't allowed you. We always spent Christmas as a family and that year wasn't going to be different."

"I remember. Rory was only a baby and slept most of the time. I ordered a pizza from the only place that was open on Christmas eve and watched movies all night while Rory was sleeping most of the time. Then on Christmas morning I gave her a present. I made her a teddy bear out of her first clothes. It became her favorite toy when she was older. And the Christmas the year before I wanted to spend with Christopher and some of our friends but you wouldn't let me. And neither would the other parents. But anyway, I believe I was terrible that night. I was looking for a fight and it didn't took long before you sent me to my room. First I was happy, but it didn't took long before I started feeling guilty. But it was already too late. I ruined Christmas that year."

"It was your favorite time of the year."

"I'm so sorry mom."

"What happened, happened. It doesn't matter what happened in the past, all that matters is that we're together now. My wonderful daughter, her husband, my beautiful granddaughter and her boyfriend and my grandson. I never saw what you liked so much about Christmas Lorelai. From when you were 2 years old you started looking forward to Christmas all year long. On Christmas eve you sat down in front of the tree, singing Christmas carols as loud as you could. We tried to get you to bed early, but that was an impossible job. You were too excited, not tired at all. I don't think I ever saw a girl that had as much energy as you, especially with Christmas. Besides your birthday that was definitely your favorite time of the year."

Lorelai smiled and squeezed Luke's hand as she listened to her mother.

"Then on Christmas morning you were supposed to sleep in until 9. But you would ran into our bedroom at 6 o clock yelling 'mom, dad, wake up, it's Christmas'. We would try to send you back to bed, but that was an impossible job. I would get out of bed and bring you back into your room and you would pout and whine until I finally gave in. So a little after 6 in the morning we had to drag your father out of bed and go downstairs to the living room and open the presents. Then when all the presents were open we'd go back upstairs to shower and dress you in the most beautiful dresses. And you would protest that you did not want to wear a dress. You wanted to wear jeans and a warm sweater and put on your ski boots and go outside to play in the snow."

"But you never let me."

"No I didn't." Emily took a bite of her turkey. "This really is wonderful Luke."

"Thanks Emily."

_**Later that night**_

Lorelai had taken Lucan to bed. The little boy was so exhausted that he fell asleep in his high chair. And while Lorelai put her son in bed, the rest cleaned up and prepared the living room for the movies. Richard was sitting in the arm chair, Emily was sitting on the right side of the couch, Luke on the left, and Rory and Warren were sitting on some pillows on the floor, their backs resting against the couch. Lorelai smiled as she saw her family together, and then sat down in the middle of the couch, snuggling up against Luke. "Let's start the first movie."

During the movie Emily glanced at her family once in a while. She noticed how Luke and Lorelai were exchanging smiles every now and then, how Richard was totally caught up in the movie and how Rory leaned into Warren and was slowly falling asleep. And once again she was thinking how lucky she was to spend Christmas with her family.

**_25th of December, early in the morning_**

Lorelai slowly opened her eyes. The room was still dark and she knew it had to be early. She turned around to face Luke and knew he was still asleep. He was snoring softly and his breath was still even. The moonlight entered the room through an opening in the curtains and she had to push herself up to see the time. 6 o clock. She smiled as she remember her mothers story, knowing not much changed since she was little. It wasn't that she always woke up around 6 on Christmas morning, but definitely a lot earlier than she normally would. Carefully she moved a hand to her stomach, not quite believing that she was pregnant again. For months this was her dream and now it finally came true. And there couldn't have been a better time. This most certainly was the best Christmas present she ever had. Although that made her think back of the year before, when Luke proposed on Christmas eve and Rory's surprise visit. She couldn't tell what was better and decided it was equal.

Luke felt someone staring at him and slowly opened his eyes. A small smiled appeared on his face as he looked into the eyes of Lorelai. He could see that she was smiling even if he only saw her eyes, he did not need to see the rest of her face. But he moved his eyes so he could see the curves of her mouth and all he could do was lean in for a kiss. She wouldn't let him pull back, just like the day before. Her arms went around his neck and she hold him tight against her. When the need for air came she slowly let him go, although her arms stayed in the same position. "Morning." She whispered because Lucan was asleep in their room. It was too early for him to wake up too.

"Morning." He whispered back and kissed her once more although this time she let him go immediately.

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." He turned around to see what time it was. "It's a little after 6."

"I know."

"Then why are you awake? We agreed to have breakfast at 9.30 and open the presents after that."

"I know. I just woke up and started thinking about what my best Christmas present ever was. But I couldn't name it."

"Mine was the bike I got when I was 9. I desperately wanted it but I never expected I would get one."

"Hey." She hit him playfully.

"What?" He looked innocent.

"I couldn't pick between the one I got yesterday and the once you gave me last year. So I decided that I'm equally happy with all three of them. Our engagement, Rory coming home from London and now the baby."

"Yeah, those were good presents too, but I really wanted that bike you know."

"I guess that's the dream of every nine year old boy."

"Maybe it is. We'll have to wait a few more years before we find out."

"Thank God. He's growing up fast enough as he is. It's hard to believe that he was still in my stomach a year ago. And now he's already 10 months old, he can sit up, he can crawl, he's trying hard to stand and he can say dadadadadada."

"And next year we'll have a little baby to celebrate Christmas with us. Can you believe that?"

"Hardly. I had to take all three test before I started believing it was true. But we really have to make an appointment with Doctor Elder to be completely sure."

"We can call her tomorrow and see when she has an opening for us."

"That would be nice. I'm sure it's busy around the holidays."

"We'll find out tomorrow."

"Dadadadadada." Lucan's voice sounded from corner of the room.

"Great now he's awake already too."

"He just knows it's Christmas hon."

"He's soo your son." He stood up and walked to the corner of the room to take his son out of bed. Luke stopped in front of the bed, leaning forward a little. "Hey buddy, it's too early to be awake. Try to get some more sleep."

The baby lifted his hands in the air "Dada."

"Yeah that's right. "Dada." He picked up the boy. "Who am I?"

"Dadadadada."

"No, dada."

"Dada."

"So he does know how to say it." Lorelai sat up in the bed, the sheets tightly around her.

"Who's that?" Luke pointed at Lorelai.

The boy just smiled in response.

"Mama. Can you say that? Mama" Luke pronounced the word very slowly.

"Dadadadada."

"Sorry, I guess he likes me better." Luke walked towards the bed and sat down with Lucan in his lap, who immediately wriggled out of his fathers arms and turned to his mother.

"No he doesn't. Dada is just easier to say than mama, isn't it my boy."

"Dada."

"Let's go downstairs and feed this little boy here. Then we can take a shower and give this boy a bath and we'll be ready before the others are even awake."

"That would be a first."

She stuck out her tongue and handed Lucan back to Luke so she could get out and put on her bathrobe.

They walked downstairs together and Lorelai sat down on the couch with Lucan, while Luke walked into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for his son. She left out the lights so the only light filling the living room was that of the tree. Lucan loved the lights and the shining of the ornaments and could look at it for a long time. Whenever he was crying in his playpen and they didn't had the time to pick him up, they would turn out all the lights except the one of the three and the little boy would calm down immediately, pulling himself in a sitting position and he would stare at the tree in amazement.

Lorelai heard footsteps coming from the kitchen and turned around, expecting to see Luke. She was surprised to see her mother instead. "Good morning Lorelai."

"Hey mom. I'm sorry, did we wake you?"

"Oh no, don't worry." Emily sat down next to her daughter.

"Luke's in the kitchen making breakfast for Lucan. 9.30 is too late for him. Especially now he's awake this early."

"Of course. We don't want him starving."

Lorelai smiled. "No we don't."

"So tell me something."

"What?"

"What's up with you? You were gloating the whole evening yesterday."

"I was just happy that we were finally spending Christmas all together, as a family."

"Maybe that was a part of it, but it wasn't all. Are you pregnant?"

"Shhhhh…. I found out yesterday." Lorelai whispered. "I was cleaning the house before you came, but it was completely obsessive, not in a normal way. First I thought it was because I wanted everything to be perfect for you and dad, but later I realized that I did it before. When I was pregnant with Lucan I was completely obsessed to have the house clean. I don't think Luke ever saw it, although he must have noticed that the house was suddenly clean instead of… well not."

"But the Christmas party is only 3 weeks ago. You said you had your period?"

"I thought I had, but apparently it was something else."

"You did a home test?"

"3. I'll be calling my gynecologist tomorrow for an appointment to find out for sure. But honestly, I don't think that test is necessary."

Emily pulled her daughter into a hug. "I'm so happy for you Lorelai. I know how much you wanted this."

"Thanks mom." Lorelai smiled when her mother let her go. "Just don't tell anyone just yet, not until we really know for sure. I want to tell Rory first, and then I'll tell dad."

"Of course, I'll keep it a secret."

Then Luke emerged from the kitchen with Lucan's breakfast and from the look on his face Lorelai knew he heard the entire conversation. "Hey mom, do you want to feed your grandson?"

"I would love to."

Lorelai put Lucan in Emily's lap, making sure one of his arms was behind her back. "Hold his other hand with yours and hold the plate in that hand too, you can hold the spoon in your other hand. If you leave his hands free, you will be covered in oatmeal soon."

"Thanks."

Lorelai stood up and walked to Luke, whispering. "I hope you don't mind that my mother knows."

"Of course not. It means a lot to her that you told her right away."

She nodded.

In the half hour following, everybody emerged from the other rooms. Richard walked in about 10 minutes after Emily did, and it didn't took long before both Rory and Warren came walking down the stairs. They decided to have breakfast first, and to open the presents after that. Lorelai was surprised to see that her mother kept her promise and didn't spent to much on Christmas presents. After opening the presents they drank tea and coffee and then one by one went upstairs to take a shower.

It was already noon when everybody was ready. Emily was the last one in the shower and surprised everybody when she walked in the living room wearing a pair of jeans and a warm sweater.

"What are you wearing mom?"

"I'm going outside to play in the snow."

"What?"

"It's too cold to wear a dress outside. Come on, why don't you change yourself and come outside with me?"

Still in shock Lorelai stood up, and Rory followed her example. "Can I borrow something mom?"

"Sure, come up."

The girls walked upstairs together. "Hey mom, what's gotten into grandma?"

"I have no idea kid, I have no idea." Lorelai had a huge smile on her face. "But ever since I was a little girl this is all I wanted to do at Christmas, and this is the first time my mother will let me so I won't ask any questions."

"You always took me outside in the snow at Christmas when I was little. Now I know why."

"Come on, let's change."

Back downstairs everybody was wearing coats. Even Lucan was dressed in his ski suit. Lorelai smiled. "So we're really going to do this?"

"We're really going to do this."

They walked outside and noticed how the snow was still falling down hard. Lorelai stopped on the porch as the rest walked into the garden. Only Emily stopped next to her daughter. "Thank you mom."

"For what?"

"For yesterday, for today. This Christmas has been amazing so far."

"I have to thank you Lorelai. You are the one who invited us over. I can't tell how much it means to me."

They smiled to each other and watched how Richard threw a snowball at Rory and how Warren picked up some snow and threw it in Richard's face. Luke was standing at the side with Lucan, who was laughing at the scene in front of him. Then Lorelai walked into the garden herself, picked up some snow and threw it at her mother who was hit by surprise.

"Hey." Shock was written all over her face, but not for long. Emily took a few steps forward, kneeled down to pick up some snow and threw it towards Lorelai. Soon everybody was caught up in a snow fight, not caring who they were hitting with the cold snow. After 15 minutes Luke walked in to feed Lucan and put him in bed, since he was becoming tired. When he walked back on the porch half an hour later, they were still outside. And it didn't took long before Lorelai threw a snowball in his face. He ran towards her, picked up some snow and put it in her neck.

"Hey, that's cold." She took off her scarf to remove the snow from her neck and threw it on the floor. Then she put her arms around his neck. "Where was that for?"

"You threw snow in my face."

"So, do you have any idea how cold it is to have snow in your neck."

"I think so, although it's been a while." He smiled and leaned in to kiss her.

During the kiss he didn't notice how Lorelai carefully pushed him backwards towards the porch railing, or how everybody stopped their snow fight to look at them. It wasn't until his back hit the railing he felt something cold and wet in his neck and realized that Lorelai tricked him. There was enough snow on the porch railing so she could get to him without kneeling down. She let go of him fast and ran away while everybody continued their own fight.

**_28th of December_**

"Mrs. Danes."

Both Luke and Lorelai stood up as they walked into doctor Elder's office. "Hello Lorelai, Luke."

"Hey."

"Where's your son today?"

"He stayed with my daughter Rory and her boyfriend."

"I see. Do they know where you are now?"

"No, actually they don't. They think we have an appointment at the bank. We just wanted to be completely sure. The only one we told is my mother."

"Alright. Well, let me ask you a few questions first and then we'll do a blood test, okay?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Okay. When was your last menstruation?"

"I thought that was a little more than 3 weeks ago, but it wasn't the same as normally. Less blood, not so many cramps, and a few days late."

"So you don't think it was a menstruation?"

"I thought it was, but now I don't anymore. So no."

"When was the last time before that?"

"The month before. I'm very regular normally, so I guess that's about 7 weeks? I don't remember the exact date."

Dr. Elder wrote down some notes. "Have you been having other symptoms? Nausea for example?"

"I haven't thrown up yet, but I've been having this obsession with cleaning. I didn't even thought about being pregnant until I remember the last time I had this obsession, which is when I was pregnant with Lucan. Although I didn't had it until my 6th month or so, but my mother was coming over for Christmas so that explains it, kind of."

"I see." She laughed. "Anything else?"

"I don't know, it's just… I feel pregnant you know. It's hard to explain."

"I know, a lot of women say that. And I experienced it myself so I definitely understand what you're talking about. Let's do that test to be sure."

Lorelai nodded. "How long do we have to wait for the results?"

"Normally a day, but it's pretty quiet around the holidays. Most people wait until after New Year before they come here, so I can send the blood to the lab and ask them to take a look at it right away."

"That would be great."

The doctor stood up and pulled the needle car towards Lorelai. "Can you role up your sleeve for me?" She pulled a chair in front of Lorelai and sat down.

Lorelai rolled up her sleeve and suddenly felt a little dizzy. She tried to shook it away. It wasn't as if she was afraid of needles, although she wasn't too fond of it either.

"You okay?" Dr. Elder noticed that Lorelai suddenly turned a little pale.

She nodded. "Just a little nervous I guess."

"No need to be. But Luke, why don't you hold her hand?"

Luke pulled his chair closer to Lorelai's and took her left hand in his, as the doctor put a strap around her right arm to stow the blood. When she found a good vein she cleaned the spot with an alcohol swap and took a needle out of it's sterile package. "Okay Lorelai, here comes the needle."

Lorelai closed her eyes as she felt the needle enter her arm. Luke squeezed her hand. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Luke, not needing to see how her blood filled the tube. "You're doing great." He whispered in her ear. Lorelai gave him a small smile in return.

"Okay, that's enough. The doctor put a small bandage on top of the needle, and then pulled it out. Then she put a piece of tape on top of the bandage and lifted Lorelai's hand towards her elbow. "Luke if you let go of Lorelai's hand, she can put a little pressure on the bandage to stop the bleeding." She put the tube in a plastic bag and wrote an order, putting it in the bag as well. "I'll leave you two alone for a little while and get this up to the lab. I don't have another patient until an hour for now so you can just stay here if you like. I'll be back in a few minutes.

"Thanks." They watched how doctor Elder walked away.

"You okay?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what got into me. I really are not afraid of needles. I swear."

"I know." He kissed her. "I know."

15 minutes later doctor Elder walked back in the room, although it seemed much longer for both Luke and Lorelai. They looked up at her with expecting looks on their faces.

Doctor Elder sat down. "I got someone to look at the sample right away. Congratulations Lorelai, you are pregnant."

"Really?" A big smile appeared on her face.

"There is no doubt."

Luke took Lorelai's hand in his and squeezed it, letting her know how he felt.

Doctor Elder opened her drawer and picked up a chart. "Even though an ultrasound has to confirm it, I think it is safe to say that your last period indeed was not a real one. In that case you are about 8 weeks pregnant right now and your due-date will be the 10th of August. I want you to make an appointment in about 4 weeks from now so we can schedule an ultrasound. When I do the ultrasound I will measure the diameter of the baby's head, the belly and the length of the baby and that will give us good information on how far along you really are."

"Do we have to make the appointment on the way out?"

"You can do that, or if you don't know your schedule yet, you can always call to make an appointment in about 2 or 3 weeks."

"I don't think that is necessary. Since we are both business owners we can leave whenever we want."

"I wouldn't do that to fast if you want the business to keep running okay."

"I don't think that would be a problem, but I'll keep it in mind." They all laughed.

"For the next few weeks I want you to take it easy. Don't overdo and make sure you take enough rest. I'll prescribe you some vitamins I want you to take 3 times a day. Besides that make sure you eat healthy and lower your caffeine intake, preferably to zero."

"But I thought you said that the risks weren't much higher?"

"They are not. These are things I tell all my patients after we confirmed a pregnancy. All we want is for you and your baby to stay healthy during the pregnancy and make it a happy time for the both of you. And now you brought up our last conversation, do you want me to repeat anything about the chromosome tests?"

They both shook their heads. "No, I don't think that's necessary."

"I will give you some prospects which explain the tests, the benefits and the risks very good. I want you to read them and discuss it together. If you want to take the test, remember that one of the tests is done at 11 weeks. If you decide to do that test you have to call me in 2 weeks to schedule an appointment. Before we'll do the test, I'll do an ultrasound to confirm you are indeed 11 weeks pregnant. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me."

"We will. Thank you. But I don't think we want to do the test. Luke?"

"I don't think the results would make a difference for us."

"That's your decision. I just want you to consider it carefully because after 16 weeks, it's not possible to do either of the tests anymore, and I don't want you to regret not taking it."

"We'll talk about it."

"Good. Do you have any other questions so far?"

"No I don't." Lorelai said, looking at Luke.

"Me neither."

"Good. Then I'll see you in a few weeks." She stood up and picked some prospects out of the rack. "This are the prospects I was talking about. And you already have my telephone number in case you have any questions."

"Thank you."

**_An hour later_**

Luke and Lorelai walked into the house. Rory and Warren were in the living room, watching a movie. "Hey."

"Hey." Rory picked up the remote and turned the TV off. "Lucan is still asleep."

"Good. Hey hon, can we talk?" In the car Luke and Lorelai discussed that it was best if she told Rory herself, and that he would tell Warren.

"Eh… sure… We can go to my room?"

"That's fine."

They walked into Rory's room and sat down on the bed. "Mom, where have you been? You didn't had an appointment at the bank, did you? Is everything alright?"

"Slow down. You're right. We didn't had an appointment at the bank. We had an appointment with doctor Elder."

"Isn't she your gynecologist?"

"Yes she is. Do you remember that I told you I though something wasn't normal with that period I had around grandma's Christmas party?"

"Yeah. Mom, what's wrong? Are you sick?" A worried expression appeared on Rory's face immediately.

"No honey, don't worry. I'm definitely not sick."

"You're pregnant?" Rory started smiling.

"Yes, I'm pregnant."

"Oh mom, that's great!" Rory hugged her mother. "That's really great! I hope that I'll get a sister now, then I'll have a brother and a sister. That would be so cool!"

"You have to wait until August. My due-date is August 10."

"So when did you find out you were possibly pregnant?"

"When I was cleaning the house for Christmas eve. I was cleaning the house in this obsessive way, and first I thought it was because grandma came over, but then I realized that I did this when I was pregnant with Lucan. So when Luke came back from doing groceries I told him to look after Lucan who was still asleep, I drove to a pharmacy in Hartford and took 3 tests. They were all positive."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me." Rory sounded hurt.

"Because I was afraid it wasn't true. I wanted to be completely sure that I really was pregnant before I told anyone. The only one I told was Luke."

"So that's why he was smiling all night."

"Yeah, I think so…. Hey hon, you're not mad right?"

"No, I'm not mad. I just… I wish you told me right away. I know how much you wanted this and I would have been happy for you. I really would have."

"I know. But hon, if you were happy and it turned out that I wasn't pregnant after all, you would have been disappointed too. It would have been hard now to get Luke disappointed, and myself for that matter, but I don't think I could have handled it if you were too."

"But I would have been there for you mom."

"I know you would. I love you Rory."

"I love you too mom. And I really really am happy!"

"Me too." Lorelai pulled her daughter in a hug.

"Let's go back to the living room, before Luke and Warren start wondering if we sneaked out of the bedroom window."

"Let's do that." Lorelai smiled and stood up, pulling Rory with her.

**_31st of December, late in the evening_**

Luke and Lorelai decided to go to the towns New Years Eve party. It was, of course, located at town square. There was a band playing in the gazebo, and a dance stage was set up in front of it. There were tables and chairs so every guest could sit, and there was enough food for the whole town. Miss Patty made her famous New Years Eve punch, and most people brought their own drinks besides that. Taylor promised a major spectacle with fireworks at midnight and even though Luke would have preferred to stay home, Lorelai really wanted to go out. Lucan was asleep in his stroller, wearing a ski suit and was covered by a thick blanket so he wouldn't get cold. Midnight was coming closer, and Lorelai tried to convince Luke to dance with her. But of course, he wouldn't give in.

"Come on hon. Only one dance. You know how much I love this song."

"You've been saying that for the last ten songs Lorelai. Besides, someone has to stay with Lucan."

"He's asleep and there are enough people to watch him. Come on Luke, please?" She looked at him, her eyes begging.

"Fine." He was surprised he stood up this long.

"Yes." She smiled as she stood up, taking his hand in hers, leading him to the dance floor. It was a slow song so she put her arms around his neck, leaving no space between the two of them. Slowly they started moving into the rhythm of the song. They danced in silence for a while, until Lorelai couldn't keep still any longer. "I love dancing with you."

"You've said that before."

"I know. But still it is so much work to get you to dance with me. Why is that? Don't you love dancing with me?"

"I can think of something more fun to do."

"What, more fun than being this close?"

"In the center of town, surrendered by a few hundredth people? Absolutely"

"You're no fun, you know that right?"

"That's the word out there. But really, I don't care."

"Why not?"

"Well, why would I?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

"See." He smiled.

"But really, I like it. Us being together with hundredths of people surrounding us, but it still feels like we are alone somewhere."

"How can you block out all those people?"

"Easy, by looking into your eyes."

He smiled and didn't know what to say.

"Wow, I got you speechless." She smiled and kissed his lips lightly. "Can you believe that one year ago we were at the Dragonfly, standing in front of the aisle, ready to exchange our vows."

"Amazing that it's only been a year. Somehow it feels so much longer."

"I know. But in a way, it feels like it was just yesterday too. You know?"

"I do." He smiled again.

"Let's go for a walk."

"What?"

"Come on." She pulled her arms away from his neck and slipped her hands in his. She walked to Rory and Warren. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

But Lorelai didn't answer. While she pulled Luke with her, Rory and Warren followed. She walked to Lucan's stroller and pushed it forward with one hand.

"Lorelai."

"Just trust me." She checked her watch. "7 minutes until midnight."

"Then why are we leaving the party?"

"Because. Just continue walking okay?" They walked fast and in silence, not understanding Lorelai's sudden behavior. Lorelai finally stopped when they reached the lake. Normally this place was completely silent, but you could hear the festivities of the town going on. There were just too many people making too much noise. But even though it was more private. "This is perfect." Lorelai smiled.

"What are we doing here mom?"

"We'll go back to the party in a few minutes. I just want to celebrate this moment with my family alone, away from all those people." She checked her watch again. "2 minutes."

"Why didn't you just say so?"

"There wasn't enough time to talk. I knew I'd explain it later."

"Uhuh…"

"Last year at this exact time Luke and I were putting rings onto each others fingers. From then on, New Years Eve isn't only about celebrating a new year, but also about our anniversary. And we will go back to the party soon and celebrate with the town into the early hours, but I just wanted a few moments alone, just for us."

Luke put an arm around Lorelai as Warren did the same with Rory. Lucan was still asleep in his stroller.

"10 seconds." And she started counting back. "7.. 6.. 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. Happy New Year."

She kissed Luke as in the background they heard the fireworks starting. Pulling away from Luke she pulled her daughter into an embrace. "Happy New Year honey."

"Happy new year mom!"

Then she let go of Rory and pulled Warren in a hug. "Happy new year."

"Happy new year Lorelai."

After Warren she leaned forward into the stroller, kissing Lucan's cheek, being careful not to wake him. "Happy new year honey." Standing up Luke put his arm around her shoulders again. They stood still and watched how the fireworks filled the sky above the town as Lorelai placed a hand on her stomach and whispered "Happy new year baby."


	9. Baby talk

_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad you liked it, and my whole Christmas story :D:D My deadline for this chapter was this weekend, mostly Sunday, but it's already finished and checked by my awesome beta. Thanks again hon! Don't forget to let me know what you think about this chapter ;)_

**Chapter 9 Baby talk **

The first Friday night dinner after New Year's Eve, Luke and Lorelai decided to tell Richard about the baby. Lorelai's parents went away for a week after Christmas, to spend New Year's Eve with some friends in Providence. This was the first time Lorelai was going to tell this kind of news, while she wasn't nervous at all. Especially with Rory, but with Lucan as well, she was nervous as hell, and that's probably even lightly said. But now she knew that her father would be thrilled. He loved both of his grandchildren, and she knew he would love to get another one. She just hoped her mother hadn't told him yet. She wanted to see his face. But she didn't believe her mother would tell her secret. Maybe in the old days she would have, but not anymore.

Lorelai carried Lucan, while Luke carried the diaper bag, when they walked into the living room, Rory and Warren where already there. They had gone back to Yale the day before, because they had some homework that needed finishing, and had needed to use the library.

"Hello everybody." Richard smiled and stood up. "Hello Lucan. Do you want to come to grandpa?" Richard extended his arms and the little boy smiled, doing the same. "Lorelai do you mind?"

"Of course not." She handed Lucan to her father. "Where's mom?"

"She's upstairs, but she should be right here."

"Okay good. Let me get some drinks then." She noticed Rory and Warren already had something, so she turned to Luke. "Do you want a beer?"

"Yeah thanks."

She nodded as she went to get a beer for him and a glass of water for herself. Sitting down next to Luke, she waited patiently for her mother to come, while she watched the interaction between her father and her son.

"Hello." Emily walked in the living room a few minutes later, getting herself a drink and then sat down in one of the chairs.

"So, we have some news." Lorelai said, taking Luke's hand in hers.

"What is it Lorelai?" Richard looked up from his game, while Emily just smiled, already knowing what was coming.

"You're going to get another grandchild. Luke and I found out last week, when you were in Providence."

"That's wonderful Lorelai. How far along are you?"

"About nine weeks. I'm due August 10th."

Richard looked at his wife and saw her smiling, noticing that she didn't say anything. "Did you already know this?"

Emily nodded. "I noticed something during Christmas and I asked Lorelai if she was pregnant. She hadn't seen a doctor yet, so she didn't want anyone to know until she was a hundred percent sure."

"Grandma knew before me?" Rory asked, a hurt expression on her face.

"Your mother didn't want to tell me. I noticed her and Luke exchanging smiles during the movie we were watching on Christmas Eve, and I could tell there was something. So the next day I asked her if she was pregnant."

"So, why didn't you tell me then, huh?" Rory stood up and walked away.

"I'll go after her." Emily said.

"No, mom. This is something between her and me." Lorelai stood up and walked into the direction her daughter went. She found her upstairs, in the room her Emily had made for her a few years ago. Lorelai looked around, shocked all over again by the fact that her mother thought this was Rory. But that was the past. She knew that if her mother had the chance to do it over now, it would turn out completely different.

"Can I come in?"

Rory lifted her shoulders.

Lorelai walked in and sat down next to Rory on the bed. "I already told you why I didn't tell you right away Rory. It was never my intention to keep it from you. I just wanted to be sure before I told anyone. I wouldn't have told grandma if she hadn't asked about it, but when she guessed it, I couldn't deny it. Enough lies have been told in the past, and if I would have told her I wasn't pregnant then, and would have told her now that I was and she asked when I found out, she would have been hurt."

"So you hurt me instead." She stared at the sheets next to her, not wanting to look at her mother.

"Rory no, that was never my intention. You are right, I should have told you right away, but the previous months weren't easy on me and you know that. Home pregnancy tests are not completely accurate, especially if you don't take them in the morning. I know I took three, and they all turned out positive, but I was almost afraid to believe it. I did not want to get disappointed again. I ignored the fact that I felt pregnant, that my behavior at the time was totally leading towards being pregnant, and waited until I was completely sure. That was not until Doctor Elder told me, after doing whatever kind of pregnancy test doctors do with your blood. I know I was already happy about it, but like I said, if all the signs had be wrong, if I had just imagined them, and those home tests were wrong and I wasn't pregnant, I know I would have fallen apart. I had to tell Luke because he is my husband, and he would have been hurt if I hadn't told him right away. I know that you are hurt right now, but try to imagine how it would have been for him. And I know that I can go on forever and it won't help because you're hurt and I would have felt the complete same way if I was in your position. I'm so sorry Rory. You're right. You're a grown woman, and I should have told you right away."

Lorelai stared at her daughter intently, hoping to get some kind of reaction.

Rory finally looked up in her mother's eyes, and saw regret and even sadness. "If I'm a grown woman, then why am I acting so childish right now? I'm jealous at grandma. UGH…." She was obviously frustrated with herself. "I should be happy you told her right away, because this is the proof that you are finally getting along. From when I was a little girl, that is all I ever wanted. What is three days of not knowing compared to this?"

"It's easy to know something, but it's difficult when you feel completely the opposite on the inside, isn't it?"

"Yeah it is." Rory smiled. "I'm sorry mom."

"You don't have to be kid. I understand."

"You always do."

"Not always." A big smile appeared on Lorelai's face. "We're too much alike."

"You know what would be nice?"

"No?"

"If you'd get another daughter that was exactly like us, that would be rough on Luke."

"It would, but he would love her just as much as he loves you, with all her strange habits. But really, I don't want a daughter just like you."

"You don't?" Rory looked hurt again.

"No, you're my special daughter. This thing between you and me, this is special, and I will never be able to have it with anyone else. This kid here, " she placed her hand on her abdomen, "will be special in it's own way, with it's own qualities and strange habits, just like you have too."

"But I want them to grow up the way I did. Lucan and that baby in there. I know it wasn't always easy, but I wouldn't change a thing. Even when we hardly had any money, you would always find something to make me happy. I always felt loved and safe and I felt like I had everything I wanted."

"It's impossible for them to grow up the way you did. Everything is different now. We have a real house instead of a shed; they have a father who is there for them constantly. When you were little I felt like I had to make up for the fact that Chris wasn't around. But I know that Luke will be around for them. They have someone else to turn too. I'm older now, and hopefully wiser. I wouldn't change the way you grew up either, although sometimes I wish we were living in a normal house, and I didn't have to say no to you every time you wanted something. To buy all the clothes for you that you liked, instead of making them myself, just because that was cheaper."

"But you always gave me everything I wanted."

"No I didn't. I don't think you remember, but when you were five years old, you wanted to have this dress. You were invited to Lane's birthday party and you wanted to look special. It was you very first party. We were in Hartford at the mall, because I had to pick up something for Mia, and in one of the windows you saw this beautiful dress. You wanted to have it so badly, but from the price tag that was hanging on it, I knew I could never afford a dress like that, so I had to tell you no. You started crying and hitting me with your arms. You let yourself fall down on the floor and started kicking with your feet and screamed. You kept saying 'I want that dress'. You were not my sweet little girl who wouldn't hurt a fly, and I had no idea what to do. Everybody around us started looking at us, giving me a disapproved look. I got many of those when I was with you, but normally I didn't care. But right at that moment I was desperate, not knowing what to do, and knowing there was no way I could give you what you so desperately wanted. I grabbed your arms and legs to stop them from moving, and I lifted you up, almost running out of that mall, completely forgetting why I was there in the first place.

Of course I had to explain to Mia what happened. She offered to give me the money for that dress, but I couldn't take it. Now it was the dress, but I knew it would be something different the next time, and you had to learn that when I said no, I meant no, no matter how hard it was for me. I drove back to the mall the next day when you were in school, and when I walked past the store I took in the dress and went into the fabric store and bought fabric to make a dress for you. The next few nights, when you were asleep, I worked on the dress. It wasn't the same as the one in the store, but I was very proud. In my eyes it was even prettier. When I showed it to you, the day before Lane's party, you started screaming all over again. 'It's not the same and I don't like it.' The next day you came around and wore the dress anyway and when everybody mentioned that you were wearing a beautiful dress, you announced with pride that your mother made it for you. What I'm trying to say is, even if I couldn't give you what you really wanted, I tried to find a way to give you something else to make up for it."

"And you always did. I don't remember the incident at the mall, or that I didn't like the dress. All I remember is going to Lane's party and everybody telling me what a beautiful dress I was wearing. And I was really proud."

"But if this baby is a girl, and she is five years old and sees a dress in a shop window, I'll be able to buy it for her."

"But that would be her loss, because the dresses you made for me were much better than any dress you can buy in a store."

"You're just saying that."

"No I'm not mom. I mean it. Remember all the dresses you made for me. The one I wore to the first dance when I was 16. I could never have found a dress like that. Every girl on that party was jealous. Even grandma didn't believe that you made it for me at first."

"That's true. So what do you say? I have to tell her no, and make her a dress instead?"

"It would be her loss if you didn't."

Lorelai pulled her daughter in a hug. "I love you, you know that right. And I really am sorry I didn't tell you."

"Don't be mom. I'm sorry. And I love you too."

"Good. Now what do you think, should we go back downstairs? I think they've called the police by now."

"Probably." They stood up and walked downstairs. In the living room they were acting like nothing was up. Emily was talking to Luke and Warren about something, and Richard was still playing with Lucan. "Look at that." Rory whispered.

"What?"

"At grandpa. He's totally focused on the car, and all Lucan is doing is watching him. I don't even think grandpa realizes that he's the one playing there, not Lucan."

Lorelai smiled and they watched the scene for a few minutes, until they walked further in the room, sitting back down on the couches and mingling in on the conversation.

-xxxxxx-  
When they were leaving at the end of the evening, Emily stopped Lorelai on the way out. After Lorelai and Rory came back from upstairs, they did not mention the incident, so Emily wanted to know if everything was okay. Rory and Warren had already driven back to Yale, and Luke walked to the car to put Lucan in his car seat. "Is everything alright between you and Rory? You stayed upstairs quite a while."

"Everything is fine. Being Rory she was more angry with herself for being jealous, than with me for not telling her before I told you. We talked about it for a while and everything is definitely alright. Most of the conversation was about how raising Lucan and this baby is and will be different than raising her."

"How come?"

"She said that I should do it exactly the same, that that she wouldn't want to change anything for the world, but I explained to her that the situation is different now, so things will be different too."

"But at least it's a very nice thing to say. You should be proud at the young woman she became."

"Trust me, I am. Only a few months from now she'll be graduating from college."

Emily smiled. "Yeah she will. I can't believe how fast she grew up."

"Neither can I. When I look at Lucan I can only hope it won't go as fast again. But then I see what he learned and how independent he can already be. He can sit, he's starting to stand, and soon he'll be walking. He's starting to talk, although all he can say right now is dada. And he knows that Luke comes when he says it, or is willing to do anything for him when he does, so he's already misusing this new quality."

"He's totally your son."

"Yeah he is. Although he's definitely Luke's too. But it's interesting to see both Luke and me in him. You should see him when he's with Luke in the diner. Even now that he's so young, he's already starting to copy Luke. When Taylor comes in to annoy Luke, even before Luke is mad, Lucan is already putting on an angry face."

"I believe you're the one who taught him that." Luke showed up behind Lorelai.

"I did not."

"Yeah whatever. But are you coming or are you staying here tonight? I want to get my son to bed."

"Our son, and yes I'm coming. Thanks for dinner mom. I really had a good time."

"Me too Lorelai."

Lorelai smiled and took Luke's hand in hers. "See you next week mom."

"See you Lorelai."

Emily watched how Luke and Lorelai walked towards their car. And how Luke opened the door for her and helped her in, and then closed the door for her. Richard walked up behind her, putting his arms around her waist, and continued to watch with her. Luke walked around the car to the passenger seat and got in himself. They saw how Lorelai watched in her rear-view mirror when she drove backwards out of the driveway, and at the last moment looked to them, waving. Emily smiled and waved back, and kept waving until the car disappeared from her sight, then stepped out of Richard's embrace to close the door. She was getting cold.

"I can't believe you knew before me." He said, and all she did was smile.

-xxxxxx-  
"Is Rory still mad at you?" Luke asked after five minutes of driving in silence. "You stayed away quite some time."

"No, she's fine. We talked about it for a while, and she was more jealous that mom knew before her, than she was angry."

"Oh, good."

"Yeah." She turned to look at him before focusing back to the road. "We talked about how Lucan and the new baby will never grow up the way she did. She said she wouldn't change a thing of the way she grew up, even though she realizes it wasn't always easy."

"That's a very nice thing to say."

"Yeah it was. But it'll never happen. Everything is different now. In a good way. I just always thought it would be the other way around, that she would be jealous that I can give them more than I could give her when she was little. But she said she always got what she wanted. I had to tell her that it wasn't true. I told her only one story, but there are so many examples. I told her that when she was five, she saw a dress in a shop window and she really wanted to have it, but of course, it was way too expensive. Instead I made her a dress, trying to copy the dress from the store. But of course it is impossible to make it exactly the same. I worked on it very hard, and when I finished it, I was so proud. I couldn't wait to give it to her, but when I did she got angry, screaming that that wasn't the dress she wanted. I dealt with her but that night I cried so hard that I couldn't give her everything she wanted. I did not tell her that part of the story by the way. Anyway, the next day she came around and when she wore the dress to Lane's birthday party and everybody commented her dress, she was so proud, making me feel pretty good. But I still had that nagging feeling inside me, you know."

"I understand. If this baby is a girl you can buy her all the dresses she wants."

"That's what I told Rory, but then she said it would be the little girl's loss, because it's much better to have one of the dresses I made." Lorelai smiled. "It would be nice to get a girl and to make clothes for her. I never made anything for Lucan because I don't know what. It's just easier to buy boy's clothes."

"He's going to get jealous of his little sister then."

"When he does, I'll try to make him a dress shirt, or some pants or something. Actually that's not even a bad idea. I could do that right now. I just never really thought of it."

Luke smiled at his wife as the ideas ran through her mind. There was one more subject he wanted to talk about, a subject they had been putting off for over a week now but that they had to discuss this weekend. He thought for a while but decided to bring it up anyway.

"Lorelai?"

"Yeah?" She glanced at him, trying to read his face.

"We still have to talk about that test."

She sighed knowing immediately what he was talking about. "We talked about it when I was pregnant with Lucan. I don't feel like anything changed."

"But what if something is wrong? Wouldn't you like to know?"

"What would you do if something appears to be wrong, if we take the test?"

"I don't know. That's hard."

"But that's the first question you have to ask yourself Luke. Would you want to abort this baby, not have it?"

"I….. I don't know."

"That's killing it. Killing our kid Luke."

"I know." He sighed. "I know."

"I don't want to have this discussion right now. Not in front of Lucan."

"But he's not even a year old. He doesn't understand what we are saying."

"That's fair, but this is something between you and me and even though he doesn't understand simply because he's too young, doesn't mean we should have this discussion in front of him. I know we have to talk about it, because obviously we don't feel the same way, but it has to wait until we're home. We'll put the boy to bed, and then we'll talk. Okay? And in between, think about it. Think about what you would do and what it means to you, okay? Otherwise we don't even have something to discuss in the first place."

He nodded. "Okay." He had been thinking about it for over a week now, and still he didn't know where he stood."

When they got home Lorelai put Lucan to bed. Luke stayed downstairs, grabbed himself a beer and sat down on the couch. He waited patiently for Lorelai to come back. It didn't take her long since the boy was already asleep. Sitting down next to him she said "now we can talk."

"Sorry for bringing it up in the car. It just felt like we've been putting it off and there is not that much time. But you're right. We shouldn't make decisions like this in front of him. If we don't teach ourselves now, we'll forget about it when he gets older too."

"That's what I thought. And I know we've been keeping it off and I'm sorry. It's just that for me, it's simple. That test won't tell us how disabled the kid would be, if it turns out that something is wrong, even thought there's only a 1 change. Who says that the kid won't be able to live a perfectly happy life? I don't think I could kill this child just because it isn't perfect."

"I never said I could."

"I know that Luke, I know. I know it wouldn't be easy, but in the end I don't think it would matter to me. I would love this kid as much as I love Rory and Lucan and we would learn to adjust our lives to take care of it. The only thing the test would change is that we know in advanced so we can prepare, but do we want to take any risks if we decide that it wouldn't make a difference anyway?"

He took in her words and tried to place his own feelings in where she was standing.

When he kept silent, she decided to say a little more. "When I was pregnant with Lucan, we only discussed this because Doctor Elder brought it up. And that's the same situation right now. Do you honestly worry about this? Do you think that for the rest of the pregnancy, you're going to be worried that something is wrong with this kid? Because if you will be, then I'm willing to take the risks, and do one of those tests. You can even pick which one you prefer because I don't want you to worry. I want us to enjoy this pregnancy, even with the morning sickness that nicely started this morning. Even with the sore and swollen ankles I will get in a few months and all the weird cravings. I think this is the last time we can enjoy the pregnancy stage. After this kid is born our family will be complete. We'll have three amazing kids and at that point it will be enough, don't you think. We're not getting any younger and even though my parents will be willing to pay them all the way through college, who knows what happens in between.

When I was pregnant with Rory I never had the change to enjoy the pregnancy. I was only 16 years old. And even though I loved being pregnant with Lucan, I couldn't feel completely happy most of the time because Rory wasn't there. And this time is supposed to be different. Our whole family is here and we're supposed to enjoy this, every single moment of it, and if you can't because you're too worried about the health of this kid, we have to do something about it." She took a deep breath, trying to read his face.

He was lost in his thoughts and it took him a while to realize that she stopped talking. He looked up at her, staring at the expecting look on her face and he repeated her words in his mind. A smile appeared on his face. "You would do that for me?"

"I would do anything for you." She didn't have to think about her response. "Just ask me, and I'll do it. No doubts."

"Even if I asked you to never drink coffee again. Ever? Or to change your eating habits and forget about junk food and eat only healthy stuff?"

She looked shocked, not expecting this although she knew she should have. Their conversation was just so serious a minute ago, that she never expected him to bring up something like this. "Well, almost anything?" She raised her eyebrows.

He smiled. "I figured." He then pulled her in a hug. When he pulled apart a minute later, he pulled her in his lap, putting a hand on her stomach. "I want this baby more than anything in the world. I know the test wouldn't make a difference, and you're right, we shouldn't take any risks when it won't matter. And deep down I know that this kid will be okay, just like Lucan, and make our family complete like you just said. I don't need a stupid test to prove that."

"You don't." She looked into his eyes.

"No I don't. I promise you that we will enjoy every moment of this pregnancy, without worries."

A big smile appeared on her face. "Good. I'm glad you feel that way."

"Me too."

"Do you remember the conversation we had in the middle of the night, after we decided that we wanted to have another kid?"

"Kind off…."

"Where are we going to put this kid Luke? This house is not big enough."

"I guess we have to move then." He tried to measure her reaction.

"I guess we should then." She sighed, the tone of her voice showed her sadness.

"You don't want to move." It was a statement.

"If it's what we have to do, we should do it. It's only a house; we can get another one and make it feel like home. Build new memories there. We can't let this baby sleep in our room, until Rory gets married and then give it her room. Or put it in Lucan's room until then. So I guess if we have to move, we should do it now. We should look around and see what's available in town at the moment, because I don't want to leave Stars Hallow. That's one thing."

"You don't want to move."

"Sometimes you just have to move on, leave a part of your life behind, and continue somewhere else. It's kind of funny, but do you know how hard it was to move in here in the first place? I was living in a shed, but I made it a home for Rory and me. We felt at home, and it was small but it felt safe. It somehow felt bigger than my parents' house ever felt, and definitely more at home. I was proud when I finally had enough money so I was able to afford this place, we decorated, bought furniture, but the last night I spent in the shed all I could do was cry. I didn't sleep all night but I needed the time to find the courage to move on. At least I still saw the place every day when I went to work, and it didn't take long before we started feeling at home in here. It was even harder to leave the independence Inn, to follow my dreams to have my own Inn. Even though it was hard that the Inn burned down, maybe it made it easier because we had no choice anymore. We had to find new jobs for ourselves and it was the perfect timing to follow our dreams then. So maybe it's time to move on now. It was my dream to have the whole package, and we need a house big enough to fit the whole package in, and this isn't it."

He knew she was trying to convince herself, not telling him just a nice story. He thought about this a lot since they decided to have another kid, and he already had a plan. He smiled, knowing that he had been able to keep this a secret from her for months now. "We don't have to move."

She interrupted him right away. "But Luke we do. This house isn't big enough to fit in a baby. We have no spare rooms, nor do we have room to make a spare room. We can't put this kid in the attic. I know that as long as it is a baby it only needs a couple of square feet or so, but it'll grow and we really need more space."

"If you'd let me finish for once, I can explain to you why we don't have to move."

"But we can't give this kid Rory's room. You said that we wouldn't do that. You said that right?"

He sighed in frustration. "Yes I said that, and we won't give this kid Rory's room. Are you willing to listen to me now, or will you keep interrupting me, because than I'd rather go to bed. I have to open the diner tomorrow."

"No I'll listen. I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"We don't have to move. I know how much this house means to you, and how many memories you have here. I know how you pictured us getting old together in this house, and I like that thought. I too have a lot of memories here and I'd love to stay here for as long as possible. So after we made the decision to have another kid, and your freak-out in the middle of the night, I came up with a plan."

"A plan huh?" She smiled. "And when were you planning on telling me?"

"That would be now, that is, if you keep your mouth shut for longer than five seconds."

She wanted to open her mouth to respond, but decided against it when she saw the look on Luke's face, and besides that she was curious.

"Good." He smiled. "I have something for you." He stood up, walked to the desk standing in the corner of the room, opened a drawer and pulled something out. Sitting back on the couch he handed it to Lorelai.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

Lorelai opened the cardboard quiver Luke handed her, and pulled out a piece of paper. Putting the quiver aside, she rolled the paper open and saw a drawing. "What is this?"

"This is the blueprint of the house."

She looked at the piece of paper, trying to make out the different rooms, and finally smiled. "That's nice Luke, but what are we supposed to do with it?"

"We're supposed to change it. I talked to an architect and he said it's possible to add a room in the back. We could add it to the front, but that would change the way the house looks, and the lighting would be bad and all, but there aren't as many windows in the back. Only the one in the door from the back entrance. He says it's possible to add to the entire back wall, but that would make the house very big, and I don't think that's necessary. If we decide to add to the living room, we have to change and redecorate that, if we decide to add to the kitchen, we have to remove the window at the side of the house and make the back entrance a side entrance because it's not safe to have only one entrance. The architect made a few drawings, but I have those at the diner. I'll show them to you tomorrow if you like."

"You would really do that? Spend money on adding to this house rather than buying another one?"

"No matter what we do, we have to spend money anyway. It's been a while since we did anything with the house so if we tried to sell it right this way, it probably wouldn't bring up its value. But really, you love this house and you don't want to move, and for me it doesn't matter where I live, as long as I'm with you. And I love living here."

"So we have to decide how we want to remodel? I've never really thought about that before. I mean, since you moved in we didn't do much with the house. The only room that is changed is Lucan's room, but most of it is just like it was before, except that we moved in your stuff." They discussed remodeling when Luke moved in, but that somehow ended up in the background, so most they did was moving in his stuff, and mingling everything together. "I think it's time that we really make it our house."

"It already is."

"I know it is, but it will be nice to redecorate the living room, painting it in a color we both like, maybe buying some new furniture. I had this couch forever, and even though I have very good memories about it, I think we could use something new. And same goes for other things. Although I'm not sure if I like the idea of having a door at that wall." She started at the wall behind her television and tried to picture a door. "Plus, it will be pretty noisy if we add the baby's room to the living room. I think it's better to have the kitchen in between. But I don't really need the kitchen changed. But then again we probably have to, right?"

"I thought about the noise problem, and even though the kid will get used to it, it might be a good idea to have the bedroom a little further away like you said. What if she becomes one of those kids that gets out of her bed after hearing a little noise. We wouldn't even be able to watch TV."

Lorelai had a huge smile on her face. "You said she."

"You were the one saying that we would get another girl, but I wouldn't mind to get another boy either. A father can never have enough sons. I could teach both of my sons to play baseball and other kinds of sports. It'll be fun. But really, it would be nice to teach my daughter how to play baseball too."

"Not if she looks like me. But back to being serious, I don't know a lot about building rooms and adding doors in places where windows are, but I trust you with that. I guess we should start as soon as possible."

"We have to wait a few months since it's winter now, but I think we can start in March. I'll make sure everything is arranged before then, and I'll give you some concrete plans soon. And if you want to redecorate the living room, that's fine by me."

"Good. So we're really going to stay here?"

"We're really going to stay here. And I don't know what you're doing right now, but I'm heading to bed. I still have to open the diner tomorrow, and it's getting pretty late."

"I'm pretty tired myself, so I'm going where you're going."

She watched how Luke stood up, and stood up herself. But as she stood up a little too quickly, she felt dizzy. Luke grabbed her arm and steadied her. "You okay?"

She needed a few seconds to control herself and nodded. "I'm fine. I got up a little too fast, but I'm definitely fine." She turned a little so she was in his arms. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her close and she kissed him. "You're the best husband in the world, you know."

"Really?"

"Uhuh… I bet you're even willing to carry me up the stairs 'cause I'm way too tired to walk."

"You're very well capable of walking yourself."

She pouted. "But upstairs is so far away, and I'm so tired. And it's very hard work to carry a baby 24 hours a day."

"A baby that's like this big." He pulled his thumb and his index finger apart to indicate how big the baby was right now."

"Yeah, and it will only get bigger and heavier. And there are still…." She couldn't say more as he suddenly lifted her off the ground into his arms. She threw her arms around his neck and smiled. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah. As long as you don't think I'll be doing this every night." He used his usual grumpy voice, but Lorelai knew he'd carry her up and down the stairs ten times a day if she'd ask him to.


	10. The symptoms of pregnancy

_A/N: On the day of the deadline, I'm proud :D First of all I want to apologize to everyone who's writing stories I'm reading. I know I suck with reviewing lately, but I have only 10 more days left in Norway, and everything will be better after that. I promise! Especially the last few days have been crazy. My teacher from the Netherlands came for the end evaluation, which went very well by the way, and yesterday we had dinner with our Dutch friend who already went home today. That made me realize how close all of this is coming to an end, and that's really weird. I'm sure most of you understand what I'm talking about in some sort of way.  
Anyway, I could go on about this all day, but then you don't have the time anymore to read my chapter, so that wouldn't be a good thing. Of course thanks to all of you who read and reviewed my last chapter! And thanks to my wonderful beta LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict! _

**Chapter 10 The symptoms of pregnancy **

Even before Luke opened his eyes, he turned around, extending his arms towards Lorelai, but all he found were sheets. He opened his eyes to make sure she really wasn't there, which she wasn't. He got out of bed, knowing he would most likely find her in the bathroom. It took a long time before the morning sickness started, but when it came, it came hard. He put on a t-shirt and walked into the bathroom. She was sitting on the floor, looking miserable. She looked up when he came in, but hardly had the energy to talk so she just gave him a slight smile.

He sat down next to her. "Hey. How long have you been here?"

She leaned into his shoulder, not wanting to talk. All she wanted was to feel safe in his arms for a while. He realized this and put his arm around her, holding her tight. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until she finally found the energy to talk. "If there was any doubt if we would ever have another kid after this one, that is now gone."

He smiled slightly and squeezed her hand. "I don't think we had any doubts about that."

"I know, I know." She sighed. "For some stupid reason I thought I was lucky, not having any morning sickness at all, but of course it had to come anyway." She had been sick for over a week now, and the nausea stayed all day long. No matter what she tried, she spent most of her days on the bathroom floor. She hadn't been at the inn in a week, and she hadn't even got a chance to tell Sookie about the pregnancy. She felt like the worst best friend ever. "I think I'm going to work today."

"I don't think that is a good idea."

"I have to tell Sookie Luke. She's going to be angry if she's going to find out in a few weeks, when the nausea finally stops. She's been worried about me. You said it yourself."

"I told her it was nothing serious. I couldn't tell her the truth because you want to tell her yourself, but she knew I was lying."

"See, that's why I have to go tell her."

"Why don't you ask her to come by here? I really don't want you to go out there. Even if it's just to tell Sookie. I know that when you get there and see the work that needs to be done, you'll stay there the rest of the day. You're exhausted enough as it is."

"How much work is there to do? I have to go there Luke. I have to."

"You don't have to go there at all. You have to stay here. I'll take Lucan to the diner so you can take care of yourself. Then after breakfast rush I'll be here to keep you company and only go back for lunch rush and diner rush. You can watch a movie or do some reading in between. Okay?"

She looked up. "Do I have a choice?"

"Not really." He smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Besides, you said it yourself. You want to enjoy every moment of this pregnancy. Think about how much you're going to miss when you're working."

"You're mean. How can you throw that at me?"

"Sorry."

She hit him in the chest anyway. "I know I said I want to enjoy this, even with the morning sickness, but this has been crazy. I seriously don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Maybe it will be better today." He gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I hope so."

"You think you're okay to get up?"

"I can try."

He nodded and stood up so he could help her up. He took her hands in his and pulled her up, keeping her safely in his arms for a few more minutes before they walked out of the bathroom. "I'll go see if Lucan is awake. You go downstairs, okay?"

"Okay."

Luke walked into his son's room. The little boy was sitting up in his crib, playing with a stuffed animal. He looked up when he heard the door open and smiled when he saw his father. "Dada."

"Hey there buddy." Luke walked to the crib and picked up his son. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Dada." They tried hard to teach him some other words, mama in particular, but he refused to say anything but dada.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, yeah I know." He walked to the changing table and changed Lucan's diaper before taking him downstairs. When he walked into the living room, he saw Lorelai sitting on the couch. He handed her Lucan. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Not yet. I want my stomach to ease down a little first, and then I'll try some tea and bread."

"Okay. I'll go make something for him and for me then, okay?"

She nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Lorelai watched how Luke walked away, and then she turned Lucan around in her lap, smiling at the boy. "Hey baby. How did you sleep?"

Lucan laughed at his mother, who smiled back.

"So, what do you want to do while daddy makes you breakfast huh? Do you want to play a game, or do you want me to read you a story, or do you want to sing a song?"

"Dada." Lucan smiled.

"No, mama." Lorelai knew that she could just as well stop trying, because he didn't want to say it anyway. "Let's sing a song then, alright?" She started singing. "Twinkle, twinkle little star…."

Luke smiled in the kitchen as he heard Lorelai sing. The milk was boiling so he put the oatmeal powder in. When it was thick enough he turned of the stove and put it in two plates. He took two spoons out of the drawer and walked into the living room. "He likes it when you sing for him."

The smell of the oatmeal entered Lorelai's nostrils. She felt her stomach turn and had to hurry to put Lucan on the floor and ran towards the downstairs bathroom. She kneeled next to the toilet just in time to empty her stomach once again, although she felt like there was nothing in there in the first place. "Damn Luke." She murmured once she was finished. She flushed the toilet and rinsed her mouth with some water. Then she walked back in the living room, but immediately towards the stairs. "I'm going to take a shower. I hope you finished eating by the time I come downstairs, because my stomach does not like the smell of that."

Luke looked at his wife. "Sorry."

"Yeah, that's what you've been saying every morning for the past week." She yelled downstairs.

When she walked into her bedroom to get some clothes she saw her bed, and suddenly felt exhausted once again. She wanted to lie down just for a few minutes in the hope that she would feel better, but it didn't take long before she fell asleep. When Luke walked upstairs 20 minutes later to check up on her, he found her deep asleep. He smiled, quietly took some clothes out of the closet and walked into the bathroom to dress himself. After that he gave Lucan a bath, left a note for Lorelai and went towards the diner.

-xxxxxx-

When Lorelai woke up a few hours later she felt a lot better. She called Luke's name, but when she got no reply she figured he was still at the diner. After a nice warm shower she made herself some light food and tried to watch some TV. There were only stupid morning shows however, and she didn't feel like listening to other people's problems and mocking them this morning. When she was sure she was able to keep her breakfast in, she decided to go to the Inn to tell Sookie. She turned around the note Luke wrote her, and wrote one for him in case he came home before she did. Then she put on her coat, looked for her car keys and stepped outside. She took in a deep breath of fresh air and wondered how long it had been since she was outside. It seemed much longer than it really was.

She took the long road towards the Inn, avoiding driving past the diner, knowing that if Luke saw her, he would come and get her straight away. He didn't understand that she had to get out of the house, even if it was just for a few minutes. She was driving herself crazy at home, and he meant well by taking Lucan with him, but that meant she was totally alone, and completely bored most of the time. He came by as often as possible of course, but he had something better to do than keeping his sick wife company. Plus, she wasn't even really sick. Just pregnancy symptoms. "Only a few more weeks." She said out loud, hoping it were rather less than more.

Michel looked up when Lorelai walked into the lobby. "Look who's still alive."

"Morning Michel."

"Good afternoon Lorelai. Are you feeling better?" His tone very sarcastic.

"I did until I saw you Michel. Sookie in the kitchen?"

"What? You left your brain at home today? You certainly didn't get any smarter by being sick. I feel so sorry for you."

"Whatever Michel." She sighed, knowing that Michel would never change. Normally she would laugh hard about his stupid comments, but they were a little too much for her today. She decided to ignore him and to find her best friend instead. Of course Sookie was in the kitchen, busy preparing breakfast.

Sookie looked up when she heard the kitchen door opening and smiled when she saw her friend. "Lorelai, how are you doing? Luke said you were sick?"

"Yeah, but nothing serious, really."

"That's what he said, but he sounds like a fat liar to me. What was wrong with you?"

Lorelai looked around the kitchen and noticed the staff was caught up in their work; they were not paying attention to Sookie and her. She stepped a little closer to her friend. "Just morning sickness."

Sookie let the three words register in her mind. "Oh……. Ooooohhhh." She started screaming and jumping up and down, pulling Lorelai with her. "You're pregnant."

A big smile appeared on Lorelai's face, but the sudden movements made her dizzy. Soon she heard a high tone in her ears, and Sookie's screaming sounded far away. Then there was nothing…

-xxxxxx-

Sookie stopped screaming and jumping the second her best friend fell backwards on the floor. She let herself fall down next to her. Looking up she screamed. "Someone call an ambulance." She took Lorelai's hand in hers. "Lorelai, wake up. Please wake up. Open your eyes for me honey." Lorelai's face was completely white, there was absolutely no color.

"What happened?" The kitchen staff gathered around her, and Michel ran into the kitchen, hearing Sookie yell for an ambulance.

"What's wrong in here? Are you okay Sookie?"

"I'm fine, it's Lorelai. Please call an ambulance, and please call Luke."

Michel nodded, turning around and walked towards the front desk for a phone.

One of the guests, who heard the screaming as well walked into the kitchen. He observed the scene, and tried to push himself through the group. "What happened here?"

"She just fell down."

"After what?"

"She told me she is pregnant and we started jumping up and down, and she just fell."

"She probably fainted. Everybody step away, give her some fresh air." They looked at the man in silence, not moving. "Now." He said a little louder, and suddenly everybody stepped away, besides from Sookie.

"Lorelai, please open your eyes."

"Ma'am, give your friend some space." He kneeled down at Lorelai's feet and lifted them up. "Do you have a chair or something?"

"What, you want to sit?" But someone else handed him a chair, which he put down underneath Lorelai's feet.

Lorelai slowly started to open her eyes, not knowing what happened or where she was. Her head was pounding, and her vision was blurring. "Luke?"

"He's coming sweetie. Everything is going to be alright."

"Sookie? Where am I? What happened?"

"You're at the Inn."

"Oh." Lorelai put a hand on her forehead, blinking a few times in the hope her vision would come back. "What happened?"

"You fainted."

Lorelai tried to push herself up, but a hand pushed her back down. Her vision returned, but she still didn't recognize his face. "Who are you?"

"My name is Steve Matthews. I'm a guest at the Inn. I'm a doctor. Just calm down, give yourself some time, alright."

Lorelai nodded. "Please don't tell Luke."

"Michel has probably called him already." Sookie took her friend's hand in hers.

"No, he's going to kill me. He told me to stay home. I have to go home." She pulled her hand out of Sookie's tried to get up again.

"Just lay still Lorelai. You're body needs some time to regain strength. If you get up now, there's a big chance you'll faint again, alright? I'm sure your husband will be worried, not angry." Steve took in Lorelai's appearance. Her face regained some color, although she still seemed a little white. He put two fingers in front of her eyes. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Lorelai looked at him as if he were stupid. "Two."

"That's good. Everything is going to be okay. It's not uncommon to feel dizzy or to faint when you're pregnant okay?"

"I've been feeling dizzy lately."

"The manager called an ambulance, so they are going to take you to the hospital soon ok?."

"I don't want to go to the hospital. I just want to go home."

"I understand. And you are allowed to go home, after they made sure you are fine. It seems like you fell pretty hard."

"My head hurts a little."

"Can you follow my finger with your eyes? Don't move your head, just your eyes."

"What are you doing?" Sookie asked.

"Just a few tests." He moved his finger and looked into Lorelai's eyes while she looked at his moving finger. "Very good Lorelai. You're doing amazing."

Just when Steve finished his test Luke walked in, carrying Lucan with him. He handed Lucan to Sookie, while he kneeled down next to Lorelai. "What happened? Is she alright?" He looked around, hoping to get some answers. When he heard Lorelai's voice, he looked at her.

"I don't know what happened." Lorelai looked at him, her eyes questioning.

Sookie looked at Luke. "She fainted."

"She what?" His head shot up.

"I'm fine Luke. I'm fine." She tried to look him in the eyes and gave him a slight smile. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I should have stayed home. I'm so sorry."

He wiped some hair out of her face, resting his hand on her cheek. "Don't be, okay?. I'm just a little worried about you right now." He smiled slightly and then looked back at Sookie. "Did someone call an ambulance?"

"Michel did."

Luke looked up and noticed Michel standing at the side. "They should be here soon. I called you right after I called them."

"Thank you."

"I don't need to go to the hospital Luke. This man here is a doctor. He can help me."

"I'm Steve Matthews. Primary care physician."

"Luke Danes. Is my wife alright?"

Steve motioned for Luke to stand up so he did. They walked away from Lorelai, while Sookie kneeled down next to her friend again and Lorelai smiled at her son. The little boy didn't understand why his mother was laying on the floor, but he found it interesting.

"What's wrong with her?" Luke and Steve walked away far enough to still keep an eye on Lorelai, but so she couldn't hear what was being said between the two of them.

"She fainted. Probably after some sudden movements. From what I can tell, it took a while before she came back, and she did not know where she was at first nor did she know what happened. She seems clear now."

"What happened…?"

"I didn't see what happened, but I think she fell backwards and hit her head on the floor. I think she might have a mild concussion. That is nothing serious, but I want her checked out in the hospital to be sure it's nothing more serious."

"Is she going to be alright?"

"As far as I can see, there's no reason why she wouldn't." Steve wanted to explain more when the paramedics arrived and Luke focused his attention on them.

Sookie stepped aside to let the paramedics do their job. Luke stood next to her, feeling more helpless than he ever felt before. He looked at his son who was smiling at him. "Dada." Only this time, Luke didn't smile back. The little boy looked confused as his father turned his face away from him. He didn't understand why he didn't get the attention he normally got when he said the word.

Sookie noticed the confused expression on Lucan's face, and lifted him a little higher. "Don't worry honey. You're mommy is going to be okay. You're daddy is just a little worried." She walked away a little further, deciding that the small boy did not have to be there for this.

Luke looked at Sookie, gratefully she understood. She nodded, and walked away towards the lobby where a lot of people were waiting to hear what happened. "Go back to whatever you were doing. There's nothing to see here."

Steve explained to the paramedics what happened and they decided to take Lorelai to the hospital.

"We're taking her to the hospital."

"Can I come with you?" Luke asked.

"Who are you?"

"Her husband."

"Of course." They lifted Lorelai on a stretcher.

While they were on the way out, Luke noticed Sookie with Lucan still in her arms. "Sookie can you look after Lucan for me? There's formula in the fridge in our house, and there's some in the diner as well. Here's the key to the house. You can take him to your house, or stay at our house. I don't care. He doesn't really drink formula anymore. Only before he goes to bed. He eats 1 slice of bread in the afternoon. He likes jelly or peanut butter or cheese. And in the evening he eats warm. Just make it really small like in the blender or something. But I'm sure we'll be back by then. I better go before they leave without me. I'll call you when I know something okay?"

"Okay."

"Thanks." He had to run after the paramedics who had already taken Lorelai outside.

-xxxxxx-

When they arrived at the hospital, they told Luke to wait outside. He was sitting in front of the room she disappeared in, more afraid than he had ever been before. Everybody told him she was going to be alright, but he refused to believe it until he saw it with his own eyes. He knew he had to call Rory, and Emily, but he didn't want to worry them more than necessary, so he decided to wait for more information.

The time went by slowly, seconds seemed like minutes and minutes seemed like hours and then finally the doctor stepped outside. "Mr. Danes?"

"Yes." Luke stood up. "How is she?"

"She's okay. As you know she fainted and fell straight backwards. While she fell she hit her head hard on the floor. She has a mild concussion from the impact. She feels a little tired, and she doesn't remember what happened. It's possible her short term memory will be bad for a few days. She will have a headache and it's possible that she is nauseas and throws up. But since she's in a period of morning sickness we won't know which of the two will be causing those symptoms. It's important that when you take her home, you wake her up every four hours. If there are any changes in her appearance, when she's not responding clear, I want you to take her back here."

"Is it not better to keep her here?"

"That's not necessary. There's nothing we can do for her that you can't. Plus, she will feel safer at home."

"And the baby?"

"We paged Dr. Elder who should be here in a few minutes. There's no reason to assume anything is wrong with your baby, but it doesn't hurt to check."

Luke took in the information and nodded. "Can I see her now?"

"Of course."

"Thank you doctor."

The doctor nodded and walked away.

Luke opened the door to Lorelai's room. She was laying on her side in the bed. He felt his stomach turn at the sight of his pale looking wife in the big white hospital bed. While she normally looks so strong, she seemed so fragile now. He had to swallow before he walked closer to her. He pulled a chair next to her bed and sat down. Taking her hand in his he asked "how are you doing?"

"What happened Luke?"

"You fainted."

"Oh."

"I was just suddenly lying on the floor. All these people standing around me." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have gone to the Inn. I'm so, so sorry. Don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you." He kissed her hand. "Doctor Elder will be here soon to see if everything is alright with the baby. After that we can go home."

"What if something is wrong with the baby?" She panicked, not realizing that something could be wrong.

"The baby is fine. Don't worry."

She put a hand to her head. "Ugh... my head is pounding."

"I can imagine. The doctor says that can stay for a while. He wants me to wake you up every four hours. I'm sure he doesn't realize how much work that will be." Luke gave her a slight smile.

She tried to smile back but didn't find the situation funny. She appreciated his effort to make the situation lighter though.

Luke tried to think of something else to say, but couldn't come up with anything. He was happy the silence was interrupted when Dr. Elder walked in.

"Lorelai, I didn't expected to see you so soon."

"Not really what I expected either. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Not really. I was sick all week. I've been throwing up all day long, spent more time on the bathroom floor than somewhere else. This morning it felt a little better so I didn't listen to Luke's advice to stay home and went to the Inn to tell my friend Sookie about the baby. One moment I was telling her me being sick was just morning sickness and the next thing I know I was lying on the floor. I don't know what happened in between."

"You fainted. It's not uncommon when you're pregnant. It's possible that your blood pressure gets a little low, that can make you feel a little weak and dizzy, and you can faint when you stand up all the sudden, or from sudden movements. We've been monitoring your blood pressure and it is indeed a little low, so I think that's what happened."

"I guess Sookie got a little too enthusiastic." Lorelai shrugged; annoyed that she couldn't remember exactly what happened.

"Sure sounds like Sookie." Luke squeezed her hand.

"What about the baby? Can the fainting hurt the baby?"

"No, absolutely not. But I was in the hospital and since fainting is a symptom of pregnancy I decided to come see you. There's no reason to believe that something is wrong with the baby."

"Good." It was the first time Lorelai managed to smile since she arrived in the hospital.

"Now you mentioned severe morning sickness?"

"I don't remember it being this bad with Lucan or with Rory." She looked at Luke, suddenly a look of panic on her face again. "Where's Lucan?"

"He's with Sookie."

"Oh…. I don't remember."

"That's normal. Don't worry about it. Now, you think the morning sickness is worse this time?"

"Yeah, I do. It took a long time before it begun actually. I thought I was lucky this time, but stupid me for thinking that. It started last week. The first day was okay, but Saturday was horrible. Even when I didn't throw up, I was nauseas. I can't keep anything in."

"Every pregnancy is different, so it's possible the morning sickness is worse this time than it was the other times. Did you notice anything else?"

"Just the dizziness. I have to take it slowly all the time. I guess that went wrong today."

"No need to worry about that anymore, okay. You just have to take it easy the next few weeks. The first week in particular because of the concussion."

Lorelai nodded. "Are you sure the baby is okay?"

"Let's do an ultrasound so we know for sure."

"I'd like that." She squeezed Luke's hand now, even a little excited to see her baby for the first time.

"Let me get the machine." Doctor Elder walked out the door to find an ultrasound machine. They were still in the ER, so it didn't take long before she found one. She drove it into Lorelai's room and smiled as she saw Lorelai slowly getting back to her normal self, making a few jokes towards Luke. "There we are." She plugged the machine in, and waited until it started up. Then she entered Lorelai's name and personal records and selected the right protocol. "Okay Lorelai, can you lift up your shirt for me?"

"I think I can manage." Lorelai lifted her shirt up and shifted so she could look at the monitor. Her hand found Luke's again right after she let her shirt go.

Dr. Elder picked up the bottle with gel. "This can feel a little bit cold." She squeezed some gel onto Lorelai's lower abdomen.

"A little she says." Lorelai shivered as the cold gel came in contact with her skin.

"I hope your bladder is full enough, otherwise you have to drink some water and we can try again in about 15 minutes."

"I really have to go, so I think we're good."

"Let's see if that's true." Dr. Elder put the probe on Lorelai's stomach and looked at the screen. They could see a big black ball. "You're right. You're bladder is pretty full." Doctor Elder pointed at the black ball. "This is your bladder."

"And the baby?"

"A little patience here." She smiled and moved the probe, searching for the baby. "Ah, there it is." She pointed at the screen.

Lorelai looked at the screen in amazement. "That's our baby?"

"That's your baby." She did some measuring and moved the probe a little in the process.

Lorelai kept looking at the screen, not completely understanding what her doctor was doing. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm measuring the baby to see how far along you are." She stared at the screen again as she moved the probe a little further. A smile appeared on her face.

"What?"

"Do you see that?" She pointed at the screen.

"Yeah. That's the baby, right?"

"Yes and no."

Lorelai looked confused, her head was hurting to much to understand a word game. She looked at Luke in the hope that he understood what the doctor was saying.

"Yes and no? Is it the baby or not?"

"It is a baby, yes, but not the one you saw before." She looked at the screen and scanned the uterus to make sure there were only two babies.

"You mean we're getting twins?"

T.B.C.


	11. too good to be true

_A/N: I never thought I'd be updating this far before the weekend. Thanks for all your reviews on the previous chapter and thanks to my amazing beta for proofreading so fast. I love you all!_

**Previously on The Whole Package:**

"_Do you see that?" She pointed at the screen._

"_Yeah. That's the baby, right?"_

"_Yes and no."_

_Lorelai looked confused, her head was hurting too much to understand a word game. She looked at Luke in the hope that he understood what the doctor was saying._

"_Yes and no? Is it the baby or not?"_

"_It is a baby, yes, but not the one you saw before." She looked at the screen and scanned the uterus to make sure there were only two babies. _

"_You mean we're getting twins?"_

**Chapter 11 - Too good to be true? **

"Yes, you do. I don't see any more babies, so you're getting twins."

"Twins, as in two babies at a time?" Luke needed confirmation.

"Yes. 2 babies at once."

"Like two for the price of one?"

"Yes Luke." Lorelai looked at her husband, annoyed by his reaction.

"Wow, uh…. Wow."

Dr. Elder looked at the interaction between the couple, knowing they needed some time to talk. "Both of the babies look healthy. Reschedule an appointment in about 3 weeks from now, unless you have any questions before that. The door to my office is always open for the two of you. If you have no questions now, I'll leave the two of you alone to talk, alright?"

"Fine." Luke groaned.

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks for everything doctor. We'll call you."

With that Dr. Elder left, not bothering to take the machine with her, knowing that would take too much time at the moment.

"What was all that?" Lorelai looked at Luke, not understanding his reaction.

"What was what?"

"Your reaction here. Aren't you happy about this?"

"Well, honestly I don't know. One baby is one thing, but two? How much work will that be? I mean, one baby knew perfectly well how to keep us up at night, how will it be if we have two at the time? When one is finally asleep, the other one wakes up. We're never going to sleep again."

"So it will be a little more work. But won't we get twice as much love too? The first smiles, how they squeeze your finger?"

"I don't know Lorelai. I have to think about this."

"Think about what?" For the first time since they started this conversation she raised her voice. "What is there to think about? We're getting twins. There are two babies in here and there is nothing you can do about it."

"I'm sorry." With that he turned around and walked away.

"Luke." Lorelai yelled after him, but he didn't even look back. She rested her head in her hands. Her headache became even worse, even though she thought it was impossible. "Ugh…" She yelled in frustration.

"Everything alright ma'am?" A young nurse walked into the room.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"Good. The doctor said you can leave. All you have to do is sign the release papers and you're good to go."

"Thanks."

The nurse nodded and walked away to give Lorelai the space to gather her things.

Lorelai slowly stepped out of the bed, looking around for her stuff, all she found was her coat. Looking for her purse, she realized she didn't have it with her. It was probably still at the Inn. "Great. Now how do I get home?" She put on her coat and walked to the reception. "Hi, my name is Lorelai Danes. I want to sign out."

"Of course Mrs. Danes." The desk clerk turned around and looked for the papers. "There you are." He put the papers in front of her on the desk. "All you have to do is sign here and you're free to go." He handed her a pen.

Lorelai signed the form. "Thanks."

"Is there anything else we can do for you ma'am?"

"Is there a phone I can use?"

"There's a pay phone over there." He pointed.

"I don't have my purse. I was taken in by the ambulance so I have nothing. No cash, no cell phone. I need to call someone to pick me up."

"Wasn't your husband here before?"

"Please, can I use your phone or not?" She was tired and did not want to go through this with him.

"Of course." He put the phone on the desk so Lorelai could use it. "You need to dial 9 first."

"Thanks." She waited until the man walked away, and then dialed Rory's number.

"Hello?"

"Rory, it's me."

"Mom?"

"Yeah. Listen, I'm at Hartford memorial. Can you come pick me up and give me a ride home?"

"What happened?"

"I'm fine. That's all you need to know now. Please, can you come or not?"

"I have a class in 20 minutes, but I guess I can miss it. Can't Luke come?"

"No he can't."

"Doesn't he know that you're in the hospital?"

"Rory he does. Look, I don't need you to lecture me, I just need you to pick me up and give me a ride home. You want to do it or not?"

"I'll be there in about 30 minutes."

"I'll be waiting for you." Lorelai put the phone down with a sigh. Without saying anything to the desk clerk she took a seat in the waiting room. She waited 25 minutes before she walked outside knowing it wouldn't take long before Rory would get there. After three more minutes she saw Rory's car pull up in front of the main entrance. She opened the door for her mother, who stepped in.

"Mom, what happened?"

"Geez, can I sit down first?"

"Yeah sure. Of course. I'm sorry." Rory waited almost five minutes before she asked again. Hoping her mother would start talking on her own. But all she did was staring out of the window. It was hard to read her expression. "What happened mom?"

Lorelai turned to face her daughter. "I went to the inn to tell Sookie about the baby. Then suddenly I fainted. When I fell down I hit my head on the floor. Someone called an ambulance and they took me here. I have a mild concussion, nothing to worry about."

"You fainted?"

"Dr. Elder says it's not uncommon to have low blood pressure at the beginning of a pregnancy, and that causes dizziness and sometimes even fainting. I was just unlucky."

"So, you came here with the ambulance, then what?"

"Then they did some tests and figured out I have a concussion. End of the story."

"What about Luke?"

"What about him." Annoyance was evident in her voice.

"Doesn't he know you're here? Are you afraid he's angry at you or something?"

"He knows. Someone called him too. He arrived before the ambulance did and came with me to the hospital. He just left before."

"But why? It doesn't make sense."

Lorelai sighed, knowing she had to tell everything. "Dr. Elder came to do an ultrasound to see if the baby was ok."

"Is there something wrong with the baby?"

"The baby's fine. She did the ultrasound and pointed at the baby and then pointed again, at another baby. I'm pregnant with twins. So I was starting to smile, but then Luke just freaked out. Dr. Elder sensed this and got herself out of the room fast, and Luke went on and on about how much work it's going to be to take care of twins, and then he just stormed out." She shook her head. "He just left me there. He didn't even look back."

"Oh mom….." Rory tried to find something to say, but there wasn't anything she could say to make her mother feel better at the moment.

"Why did he do that? Even if he freaked out, he knew I couldn't go home by myself. He forgot about me. I don't know what hurts more. He just left me."

"He needs time to think. He'll come around."

"I don't know Rory. I haven't seen him like this before. He freaked out about things before, but not like this." She knew that wasn't entirely true.

"But he loves you, and Lucan and the babies. He just needs a little time to think and then he'll be home, begging you to forgive him."

"I hope so." Her voice was low.

Rory stared at her mother, who went back to staring out of the window. The rest of the drive they remained silent, until they entered Stars Hallow. "Where do you want me to take you?"

"Can you drive by Sookie's house so we can pick up Lucan? I assume that's where she took him."

"Of course." Rory drove towards Sookie's house and parked her car on their driveway a few minutes later. "We're here."

"Thanks."

"Do you want me to go in and get Lucan for you?"

"I'll do it. Just wait here okay, I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Lorelai stepped out of the car and walked towards the front door. She rang the bell and it didn't take long before Sookie opened the door. "Lorelai, are you okay?"

"Just a mild concussion, I'm fine."

"I was so worried." She hugged her friend, carefully not to hurt her.

"No reason to be. Now, where's my son?"

"In the living room, playing with Martha. You should see the two of them together. They're so cute."

Lorelai smiled. "I can imagine."

They walked towards the living room, when Sookie suddenly noticed Luke wasn't there. "Where's Luke?"

"He had to do something. He'll be back soon." She hoped Sookie wouldn't see through her lie. She didn't want to explain once again what happened, without knowing what was going to happen first.

"Oh…. Are you here alone?"

"No, Rory's with me."

"Uhuh…. What's wrong Lorelai?"

"Nothing. I just want to get my son and go home, okay? We'll talk later."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Lorelai walked into the living room and smiled when she saw Lucan fighting over a toy with Martha. He was much smaller, but refused to let go. She stood still, waiting to see who was going to win the fight, and to her surprise, that was Lucan. Martha just let go and turned around to find something else. It wasn't until then the little boy looked up and smiled. "Dada." Lorelai's eyes filled with tears immediately and she tried to blink them away before Sookie noticed.

"I'm mamma." She kneeled down next to her son and pulled him into her lap. When she was sure she had control of herself she turned to look at Sookie. "He calls everybody dada."

"He'll learn to say more soon. Just wait."

"I will." She turned Lucan around so he could stand on her legs. "What do you say, are we going home?"

"Dada." The little boy smiled.

Lorelai forced a smile. "Yeah, let's go see dada." She stood up carefully and slowly, afraid to become dizzy again, especially with Lucan in her arms. When she was up and sure she was steady, she helped Lucan into his jacket and said goodbye to her friend. "Thanks for looking after him Sook."

"Any time. You know that. Although next time you want to get rid of him for a few hours, just ask. You don't have to make a scene around it."

"Good to know." Lorelai smiled for real now. "I'll call you tomorrow. I promise."

"Good. I'll be waiting."

"Thanks again Sookie."

"Don't. Just take that boy home and get some sleep."

"I will." She walked outside to Rory's car. She sat down on the passenger seat, with Lucan in her lap. "Drive slowly."

"Will do."

The drive home was short and Lorelai dreaded going into the house. Part of her hoped that Luke would be there, but part of her knew that he wouldn't be. A strain of nausea caused her to move faster. She pushed Lucan in Rory's hands and ran inside, happy she didn't lock the door on her way out that morning.

Rory walked inside after her mother, closing the door behind her. She took Lucan's jacket off and put him in the playpen. When he started to protest, she put a toy car in his small hands, hoping it would get his attention. Lucky for her it did. She took off her own coat and threw it on the couch, then walked towards the bathroom to check up on her mother. When she opened the door she saw Lorelai sitting on the floor, tears were rolling down her cheeks. She hurried inside, sitting down next to her mother. "Oh mom."

Lorelai rested her head on Rory's shoulder. "I messed up."

"What. No. How did you mess up?"

"I'm stupid enough to get pregnant with twins. And even more stupid to think for even one second that it was a happy thing. I'll probably end up raising three little kids all by myself."

"Mom no. You're overreacting now. Luke will come around and he will be happy about this. I promise."

Lorelai shook her head. "I'm going to bed. The doctor says I need to rest. Can you look after your brother for me, or do you have to get back to Yale?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Rory watched Lorelai walk up the stairs towards her bedroom and coming down a minute later. "I can't sleep there right now."

"You can have my room."

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks hon."

"Don't say it mom. Just get some sleep okay?"

"Okay."

When Rory heard the door to her bedroom close, she sat down on the couch. She waited a few minutes before she picked her cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed Luke's cell number. After a few seconds his voicemail picked up. "Hey Luke, it's Rory. Call me if you hear this okay. My mom is freaking out. I took her home from the hospital so you can call the house too. She's not angry, just scared. Please call me."

After Luke she called Warren who picked up himself after three rings. "Hello?"

"Warren it's me."

"Hey. How are you?"

"Fine. Hey listen, I'm at my mom's house."

"Did your class fall out?"

"No, I skipped actually. My mother fainted at the Inn this morning and was brought into the hospital by ambulance. She has a mild concussion. Is that serious?"

"No, it isn't. I had one when I was twelve and fell of my bike. My head was killing me and I was nauseas, but that was over after a few days. All I remember is that my father had to wake me every four hours."

"Why?"

"To see if I was responding clear, if it wasn't something more serious."

"Okay. I'll do that then."

"Rory, where's Luke?"

"My mom's OBGYN came to check if the baby was okay, and when she did an ultrasound she found out my mom is pregnant with twins. Luke freaked out and ran out of there, leaving my mom behind. That's when she called me. I tried calling his cell, but all I got was his voicemail. I left a message and I'm sure he'll be here in a few hours completely regretting his bad reaction. I'm going to hang out here until he comes. Someone has to keep an eye on Lucan, and you said I have to wake my mom every four hours so I'll do that. I'll call you later okay?"

"Do you want me to come over?"

"No. You have a big test tomorrow. Just stay there and study. I don't want you to fail."

"Okay. But don't forget to call me, alright?"

"I won't. I promise."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Rory hung up and turned around to look at her brother. He was caught up in a game so she figured she could do something for herself. She thought about calling her grandmother and tell her what happened, but figured it was better not to. Not until Luke and her mother were okay.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai was lying in a hospital bed, two small babies in her arms. She looked at her two kids and couldn't help but feel lonely, even with the two kids in her arms. She didn't know why though. It felt like it should be the happiest day of her life. A nurse walked into the room. "Hey, do you feel like going home soon?"

"Absolutely." Lorelai smiled. "I can't wait to go back and finally have my family complete at home."

"I'm sure your daughter will be here to pick you up soon. She promised to bring your son as well."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be here soon." Not long after she finished the sentence she saw her daughter walking around the corner, Lucan in her arms. "Hey baby." She smiled at her son, and couldn't help but think how much bigger he seemed than just one day before.

"Mama" The young boy extended his arms.

"Can you take the twins so I can take him?"

Rory sat Lucan on the bed and took the twins from Lorelai's arms. "How are you feeling?"

"More than ready to go home. I can't wait to have all of you in the house. I know it's going to be a lot of work with two little babies and this young man here, but it's going to be great."

Rory smiled. "I bet it will be."

"Hey, where's Luke?"

Rory's smile vanished. "Mom, you know that he's not coming right?"

"I do? Of course I do. Sorry, I'm just not thinking clear. I must have hit my head or something." Lorelai forced a smiled.

"Did the doctor say you can go?"

"A nurse did. I'm sure the doctor will be here soon, and then I'm out of here."

A little more than an hour later they arrived at home. Lorelai took Lucan out of his car seat and put him on the floor next to her. Then she took on of the twins in her arms and let Rory take the other. Lorelai looked around for Luke's truck, but it wasn't there. 'Maybe he left it at the diner.' They walked inside the house and Lorelai looked around, but there was no sign of Luke. "Where are you?" She whispered.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just happy to be home."

"Do you want to go to bed, or do you want to lie down on the couch or something?"

"I guess I can spend some time on the couch. I don't really feel like sleeping. These two however could use a nap. You can take them to their beds if you like."

"Sure, I will."

Lorelai watched her daughter walk away with her two babies and sat down on the couch. Lucan walked towards her immediately. "Mamma up."

Lorelai lifted up her son. "How are you my big boy."

He smiled.

"Where's your daddy?"

The little boy shook his head. "No dadda."

"What do you think, should we call him?" But before she could even get up to get the phone, the doorbell rang. "Maybe that's him." She put Lucan on the floor and walked towards the door. She was disappointed to see here parents standing there. She faked a smile. "Mom, dad. So nice of you to come."

"We want to see our new grandchildren. How are they doing?"

"Rory's putting them down for a nap, but we can take a look if you want."

"That would be nice." Emily pulled her daughter in for a hug first though. "Congratulations sweetie."

"Thanks mom."

They followed Richard into Rory's room, where Rory was standing in between the two cribs that now filled the room. Lorelai was surprised to see this. 'I thought we were going to add to the house. We were not giving the twins Rory's room.' She shrugged.

"They are beautiful Lorelai." Emily looked at her two new grandchildren. "I can't believe Luke left you alone with them."

"Luke what?"

But Emily ignored her. "I really changed my opinion on him, but when he left you just because you were pregnant with twins... I guess I was right after all."

"Mom no." Lorelai tried to defend Luke. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

"Don't be silly Lorelai. He didn't call after he took his stuff out of the house. I'm sure he'll be mailing you the divorce papers soon."

"What? Don't say that."

"You know it's true Lorelai. He didn't look back, he hasn't even seen his own son in months." Emily shook her head. "But you're going to be fine all by yourself. I know you will."

Lorelai forced a smile. 'Luke left me? He didn't come back?'

When her parents left a while later, Rory stood up as well. "Mom, I have to go. Warren's waiting for me at home."

"Sure babe. Will you come by tomorrow?"

"Mom, I'm living in Phoenix. You know I wanted to stay longer, but these two stayed in there much longer than planned and my free days are up. I have to go. My flight leaves in three hours."

Lorelai just nodded. "I'll miss you hon."

"I'll miss you too mom. I'll try to visit as soon as possible."

"Do that." Lorelai forced a smile.

The minute Rory walked out of the room, both of the babies started crying. She held them both in her arms, trying to calm them down. But they continued crying, and suddenly Lucan was in front of her, crying as well. "Mommy up."

Lorelai looked at her son. "Mommy can't pick you up right now, honey." She had never felt more helpless in her life. The two babies didn't stop crying, and Lucan sat down on the floor, hugging his stuffed bear as he sobbed. "Mommy… mommy…"

"Mom. Mom." Lorelai slowly opened her eyes. "Mom, are you okay?"

Tears filled Lorelai's eyes immediately, as she rested a hand on her stomach. She could feel that it wasn't flat. The babies were still in there." She put her other hand on her forehead. "How long was I out?"

"Four hours. Warren said I have to wake you up every four hours. Are you feeling okay?"

"Just a headache. So it was just a dream?"

"What was?" Rory sat down on the bed, next to her mother.

"I was in the hospital by myself, with two babies in my arms. Then you came to pick me up and at the house my parents came to visit. There were two cribs in your room, while Luke promised to add to the house. He promised, so they won't get your room. They won't."

"Mom, what happened next?"

"My parents came to visit and my mother said that Luke left me. That he wanted a divorce. And when they left, you left too. You moved to Phoenix with Warren. So I was all alone and just when you closed the door the twins started crying, and then Lucan started crying too. I couldn't comfort all three of them at the time. I can't do it by myself."

"You won't have to mom. Luke will be there for you. And I will be there too. I promise."

"So the other part was a dream too? It felt real. Where's Luke?"

Rory stared at the sheets, not wanting to look her mother in the eye. "That part wasn't a dream mom. But I know he'll come around. He loves you, and Lucan. He's not going to leave you. He just needs some time to think, and he'll be back here, begging you to forgive him before you know."

Lorelai's expression was blank now. "I don't know Rory. I don't know."

"But I do mom. I know. I'll call him again, maybe he turned his phone on by now."

"Where's Lucan?"

"I put him in for a nap earlier. He was exhausted. I'm sure he's going to be out for a while longer. You can sleep some more if you like."

"Not really." She was still tired, but she was afraid her dream would come back. She couldn't handle that right now.

"How about you take a nice hot shower, and I'll go down and get you some food?"

"I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat. Even if you're not hungry, there are two babies in there who need something."

Lorelai nodded. "I'd like some Mac and cheese then."

Rory smiled. "It'll be done in half an hour."

"Thanks hon."

"You don't have to say that." Rory kissed her mother on the cheek, then turned around.

Lorelai watched her daughter walk away, and then picked up her cell phone, that was lying on the bedside table and dialed Luke's cell phone number. His voicemail picked up soon. "Hey Luke, it's me. Please call me when you get this message. I'm not angry at you, I'm just worried. Please tell me that you're okay. I know we'll find a way to make this work, together, like we always do. Just call me okay? I love you." She hung up with a sigh and dialed the number of the diner next. Jake picked up after a few rings. "Hey Jake, is Luke there?"

"No, sorry. I haven't seen him in a while."

"When's the last time you saw him?"

"He got a phone call early this morning and he stormed out of here with Lucan, yelling we had to take over. Haven't heard from him since. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to ask him something. He left a while ago and his cell is off, so I was hoping he was there. But I guess not. Tell him to call me when you see him, okay?"

"Sure, will do."

"Thanks Jake."

Lorelai suddenly felt angry. What if something serious had happened and she really needed him right now? She didn't know where else he could be. She picked up the phone again, starting to think of who else she could call. She couldn't think of anyone. In frustration she threw the phone towards the wall, which broke in small pieces. Her anger suddenly turned into sadness and she started crying again.

T.B.C.


	12. Understanding his side

_A/N: Hey everybody, another chapter. Sorry it took a while, but here it is, finally. My internship in Oslo is officially over now and I'm back home. While I was having mixed up feelings about that until the day I left, I'm fine where I am right now. It's good to be home, to be around my family and my friends. And slowly everything is getting back to normal. Partially, it's almost as if I haven't left, but there are still a lot of pictures on my computer and a lot of memories in my mind. And that will never go away._ _I got a lot of review on the last 2 chapters, so I assume you liked the drama I put in the story. This chapter is mostly to understand why Luke did what he did and how he's dealing with it…Don't forget to let me know what you think!_  
_Thanks to my wonderful beta for proofreading! _

**Chapter 12 Understanding his side **

Luke drove around for hours, not knowing where to go. He had to think. He was honestly pleased when they found out about the baby, but twins was the last thing he was expecting. He had no idea how he could handle two babies at once. He liked being a father, and he liked Lucan as a baby, but he was so happy he was getting a little bigger now, able to express himself better. He had become better at the whole parenting thing, and he learned that Lorelai was right all along, while he was worried when she was pregnant with their son. But that was just one baby, now he was getting two. Plus the care of a toddler, that thought was just a little two much. In his astonishment he forgot about everything else that happened. All he could think about was raising two kids at the same time. That thought blinded him from everything else around him.

He ended up at the cemetery in Stars Hallow, not knowing how he got there. He stepped out of his truck and walked the path leading him towards the grave of his parents. They were buried next to each other, like his mother always wanted. He wanted to be buried next to Lorelai, when he died some day. Hopefully that day would stay away for a long time though, for the both of them. They had so many good things going on in their lives, and he suddenly felt the need to share that with his parents.  
The walk to their grave took him about five minutes. He kneeled down in front his mother's first, placing a kiss on his fingertips, and then laying his fingertips on the tombstone. Even though he was young when his mother died, he still remembered her clearly. She was such a smart and beautiful woman. She taught him so many things. He smiled, remembering them. "Hey mom." He sighed, feeling a little uncomfortable to talk to a stone, knowing his parents wouldn't hear him. He turned to his father's grave instead, clearly remembering the day his father was buried. He could still feel the pain in his chest as he thought back to that time. He shook his head, knowing that both his parents wouldn't want him to be there, while he had somewhere else to be. But he still refused to think of the events earlier that day, as if the shock of the news blew those memories out of his mind.

Knowing it wasn't a good idea to come here, he turned around and walked back to the truck. He drove around for a few more hours and ended up at the diner. He didn't want to go home.

"Hey." Jake looked up when he saw his boss walking in.

"How are things going around here?"

"Just fine. Lorelai called a few hours ago though, she wants you to call her."

"Okay thanks." Luke walked upstairs to his old apartment. He looked around and saw Lucan's crib in the corner, and some of his toys on the floor. His old bed was still there too. He knew he had to call Lorelai. He was sure she was worried. He picked his cell phone out of his pocket and turned it on. Soon he received the message that he had two voicemail messages. He dialed the number and listened to the messages. He sighed when he heard Rory's voice telling him that she brought Lorelai home. Then he heard Lorelai's voice, when the second message started playing. She sounded sad and hurt, and even the 'I love you' at the end of the message didn't sound real somehow.

Suddenly he hated himself. All the previous events of the day came back. How Lorelai fainted, how worried he was while they waited for the ambulance and when they took her to the hospital. How relieved he was when they told him she was going to be okay. He left her at the hospital. Without money, without a phone. He still wasn't sure how he could handle twins, but he knew that he had to make things right with Lorelai. He dialed the number of the house and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello? This is Rory."

"Rory, it's Luke."

"Hey."

"How's your mom doing?"

"Depends on what you're talking about." Her voice sounded harsher than she intended.

"Both ways I guess."

"She has a headache that's bothering her. She slept for a while. I woke her up after four hours, and I just checked on her after I made her dinner, and she fell asleep again. She's going to be okay. But in the other way she's a mess Luke. She's afraid you're going to leave her; that she has to raise the kids by herself. She's angry at you for leaving her at the hospital, and more than that, she's hurt."

"I'm so sorry. Can I talk to her?"

"I'll see if I can wake her up. Just a sec."

"Thanks."

Rory walked into her room, and saw the broken cell phone lying on the floor. She sat down next to her mother on the bed. "Mom?"

"Rory?" Lorelai opened her eyes. "Is it four hours later already?"

"No, I think you've been asleep for half an hour or so. But Luke's on the phone."

She stared at the phone in Rory's hands. "I'm not sure if I want to talk to him."

"Just listen to what he has to say, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll leave you alone to talk. I'll see if I can make Lucan some dinner. Does he like macaroni and cheese if I put it in the blender?"

"Sorry I never came out to eat."

"That's okay. I'll see if he likes it, and if not, I'll make him something else."

"There's some food for him in the fridge. All you have to do is heat it up."

"Okay, I'll do that then." She handed Lorelai the phone, then walked out of her room, closing the door behind her.

"Luke?" Lorelai's voice was even, not showing any emotion.

"Lorelai. I'm sorry."

"I bet you are. You left me Luke. You left me in the hospital, with no money, no phone. How did you expect me to go home? Walking?" Even though she promised herself to stay calm when he finally called, she couldn't. Knowing that he was okay, all she felt was anger.

"You called Rory right?"

"Yeah I did. So she had to miss a class because you couldn't leave me some money for a cab? That's the least you could have done if you decided to leave me at the hospital."

"You're angry."

"I'm not sure what hurts more. That you left me, or that you left because we found out we're getting twins. Stupid me for thinking that it's a good thing. To think that our family would definitely be complete when the twins will be born. So it's going to be a little more work? I thought we could handle it, together. I guess I was wrong."

"You're not wrong. I just… I need some time to process all this."

"It will take six to seven months before they get born. I think that's more than enough time to process."

"I know. I know….."

"What? It's not enough? What do you want from me Luke?"

"Nothing. I just need some time to process."

"You already said that. Where have you been all day?"

"Driving around mostly. Nowhere in particular. I ended up at the diner where Jake said you called and asked to call you back, so I did."

"Do you even care about how much you hurt me Luke?"

"Of course I do."

"It doesn't feel like you do. You know what. Don't bother coming home tonight. I don't want you here. Stay there at your clubhouse and process all you want. I don't care."

"Lorelai."

"I'm serious Luke. You better stay there so you can sleep in an actual bed. Don't think you'll be sleeping in a bed when you come here."

He sighed. "Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Call me whenever you have decided what you want. Don't bother calling me before that." And with that she hung up. In her anger she wanted to throw this phone away too, but since she already broke one, she figured she'd better not. She looked at the ceiling and yelled in frustration. "UGHHHH."

Rory came running in the room. "Mom?"

"I hate him, you know that? This is not the man I married."

"What happened?"

"He needs more time to think about it. It will be what, seven months before the babies are born? How much time does he need."

"Oh mom…"

Lorelai closed her eyes. "I can't believe this is happening. How can he do this? I thought I knew him. I don't recognize him anymore. How much can happen in just one day?"

"I don't know. A lot I guess."

"Yeah I guess. Well, do you still have some macaroni and cheese left for me?"

"Yeah I do."

Lorelai got off the bed, picking up her broken cell phone. "I guess I have to buy a new one."

"Looks like it."

-xxxxxx-

Luke hung up the phone in frustration. How did that phone call end up so wrong? He wanted to call Lorelai to apologize. To tell her that he was coming home, and that he knew they'd find a way to handle all this. Instead she told him she didn't want him to come home, and he knew it was his entire fault. He had no idea how he could change things, how he could make them better. He looked around the apartment, and knew he couldn't stay there. The walls were coming at him suddenly. He stood up, grabbing his car keys out of his pocket and walked downstairs.

"Hey boss. You leaving again?"

"Yeah. Can you close the diner for me? And maybe open tomorrow? I'm not sure if I'll be here."

"Sure, no problem. I'll arrange things with Caesar and Lane."

"Thanks." Luke walked outside to his truck and started driving. He ended up in front of Sniffy's. He got out of his truck and walked inside. Maisy greeted him almost immediately.

"Lucas. What brings you here?" She gave him a hug. "Where's Lorelai?"

He closed his eyes. He had no idea how to explain where Lorelai was, and how he messed things up with her.

"Luke, are you okay?"

"No, not really."

"What happened?" Maisy took him by his arm and lead him to the private area. "Sit down and talk."

Luke did as he was told and looked up at Maisy. "You'd be so disappointed in me if I told you."

"Try me."

"Lorelai's pregnant. Sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner, but the last few weeks have been crazy. Anyway, this morning I was at the diner when I got a phone call from one of her employees saying that something was wrong with Lorelai so I went over there. She fainted and hit her head and they brought her to the hospital. It turned out to be a mild concussion, nothing serious, fortunately. Then her OBGYN came to do an ultrasound to see if the baby was okay, and soon she told us there wasn't only one baby, but that we're getting twins."

"Lucas that's great. Congratulations. I…" She stopped when she saw the expression on Luke's face. "What happened next?"

"I freaked out. The thought of taking care of two babies at the same time was just too much. I ended up walking out of there, leaving her behind. I didn't even look back when she called my name. I left her there with nothing. No money, no phone. Nothing. Rory had to pick her up from the hospital, missing a class in the process all because of me. I'm an idiot."

"What did you do after you walked out?"

"I drove around for hours. I ended up at the cemetery and suddenly felt the urge to tell my parents about my life. But I couldn't do it. The thought of talking to some stones made me uncomfortable so I left. Plus, I knew my parents wouldn't want me there in the first place. Especially with everything going on right now. I ended up at the diner. Jake told me Lorelai called, so I called her back. She was so mad and so disappointed. I have no idea how to make things right with her."

"Just talk to her. Tell her what you told me. Lorelai is a very understanding woman."

"I don't think she'll understand this. I really hurt her this time Maisy." He shook his head in despite of himself.

What's done is done Luke. You just have to go home now and make up with her."

"She said she doesn't want me to come home."

"Honestly, I don't think she wants anything more than for you to come home. Just go and see if you can fix things. She's pregnant. Stress isn't good for her right now. You don't want to wait a night so she can cool off. She's only going to worry more, thinking that you're really going to leave her."

"I would never leave her, or the kids."

"Then go and tell her that son."

"But…"

"Let me tell you a story." Maisy smiled, remembering the moment. "What you did today? The same thing happened to your father when your mother was pregnant with Liz. You were the sweetest baby in the world, and your father loved you more than anything else. But the thought of having two kids freaked him out. He came running in here and had a long talk with Buddy before he went home to make up with your mother."

"What happened?" Luke didn't know this story.

"She told him she was pregnant. They were planning on it even, and he liked the thought of having a second child, but when your mother was actually pregnant he started to realize what it meant. How big the responsibility was going to be. And he freaked out. Buddy managed to calm him down in the end of course. Saying that he was blessed enough to get two kids and poor William suddenly felt so guilty, because Buddy and I, well you know. But Buddy told him not to worry, but to go home and make things right with your mother because he wanted this child to be okay. Even then we already loved you as if you were our own children Lucas, and over the years that feeling became even bigger."

"It feels like you are my parents. Both of you did so much for me after my parents passed away. You have no idea what it all means to me."

"I think we have a pretty good idea. But you have to go home and talk to your wife."

"Thank you Maisy."

"That's what I'm here for Lucas. You can come here anytime, day or night. You know that."

"I do. It means a lot to me."

"I know it does. Now go."

"You're kicking me out." He gave her a small smile.

"Yes I am. And you better go soon, before I hurt you."

"I don't want that to happen." He stood up and hugged Maisy. "Thanks again."

"You're welcome Lucas. Come visit soon okay? It's been a while since we've seen that gorgeous son of yours."

"Will do." He started walking and reached the exit when he heard his name. He turned around and stared in the eyes of Maisy.

"Congratulations son."

"Thanks." A big smile appeared on Luke's face as he started walking towards his truck.

-xxxxxx-

When Luke arrived home he ran into Rory and Lucan in the living room. "Hey."

"Dada." Lucan smiled and extended his arms towards his father.

Luke smiled at his son and took him from Rory. "Where's your mom?"

"In my room. She didn't want to be in your bedroom. She told me to take your bed, and if you showed up you could take the couch. But I can take the couch. It's no problem."

"I just want to talk to your mom. Is she still up?"

"Yeah I think so."

"I better go see her then."

"I don't know if it's a good idea Luke. She's really upset." Rory crossed her arms in front of her.

"I know. And I'm the one that caused it, so I'm the one who should make it right. You can go back to school if you want."

"I think I better stay here in case you hurt her again."

"I won't. I'm here to make things right with her."

"That's what I thought you intended to do with that phone call too, but after that she was even more hurt than before."

Luke sat down on the couch, looking defeated. "I know. I called her to apologize, but I don't know what went wrong. I'm so sorry for what happened and I really want to make things right with your mom. It's not good that she's stressed now she's pregnant."

"You're the only reason she's stressed right now. The last time I talked to her before today she was only happy, even with the heavy morning sickness."

"Don't you think I know that?" He wanted to raise his voice out of frustration, but changed his mind when he realized he was holding Lucan. "And that's why I have to make things right with her. I don't want her to be stressed; I want her to be happy."

Rory looked at her stepfather and saw that he meant it. She had been so angry at him for hurting her mother the way he did. Even though she tried to stay positive in front of her mother, from the inside she was filled with anger. But seeing him like that, the look in his eyes, she couldn't stay angry at him anymore. "Why don't you hand me Lucan so you can talk to her?"

"You don't have to take him. We're going to be okay, I promise. I'd be happier if you'd go back to school now. I know that you missed a class for her, and I'm sure you have a lot of homework waiting for you."

"Are you sure? I can stay here."

"You've done so much already. I'm so sorry for everything."

"It's okay. Just go and make things right with her okay?"

"I'll do my best."

Rory gave Luke a hug. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I guess I'll need it."

"Just show her that you're okay with everything, and then she'll come around. She's just scared and is hiding behind her anger."

"I know."

With Lucan still in his arms he walked into Rory's room. Lorelai was asleep on the bed. Dry tearstains were visible on her cheeks. His heart broke, knowing he caused them. He sat down on the edge of the bed, letting his hand slide over Lorelai's cheek. When she didn't wake up he called her name. "Lorelai."

She woke up immediately at the sound of his voice. "Luke?" She pushed herself up in bed quickly, feeling dizzy immediately. She took a minute to regain herself while Luke just stared at her. When she noticed he had Lucan in his arms, she pulled him away from him, into her lap. The boy looked at his mother confused while she pressed him against her.

Luke swallowed. "I'm so sorry Lorelai. I'm so so sorry."

"I told you not to come here. Why don't you just leave me alone? I want to sleep. Rory's here to take care of Lucan and to wake me up when she has to, so I don't need you."

"I told Rory she can go home."

"Then sleep on the couch, or upstairs for that matter, since Rory won't need the bed, but leave me alone. I don't want you here right now. I'm too angry at you."

"Listen, I know I was a jerk today, but I want to make things right. I'm sorry about…."

"A jerk? I think that's a little lightly. You left me Luke. You left me in the hospital with no money and no phone. How was I supposed to go home? Walking?"

"I wasn't thinking. I'm an idiot."

"I can understand that you freaked out by the thought of getting two kids at once. I understand that it will be a lot of work and that the thought is scary. But I hate you for leaving me there." Knowing that he was there now and that things would be alright, she couldn't control her anger. She couldn't just forgive him. He hurt her more than he could possibly imagine.

He looked away when she told him she hated him. He knew that she had every right to say that, he hated himself. "Let me bring Lucan to bed. It's late. Did he eat?"

"Yes he ate. And I'll bring him to bed myself. What if you suddenly realize it's too much work and run away again, leaving him all alone."

"I would never do that, and you know it. He's my son and I love him, I would never leave him."

"So what about these two huh?" She shook her head. "Do whatever you want Luke, but just leave us alone." She stood up and walked out of the room, straight upstairs into Lucan's room. "I'm sorry buddy. I promise your daddy and I will make up, but I'm not ready for that yet. I'm just too angry at him right now. I know you don't understand anything of what's happening here, and I hope you won't remember either." She kissed the boy on his forehead. "Come on. Let's get you out of these clothes and into your pajamas. It's been a long day."

Lucan listened intently to his mother, as she continued talking to him. "When I told your daddy I was pregnant with you, he was so shocked he didn't know what to say. He was just staring at me, and when he finally started talking he kept asking me questions to confirm what I just told him. But by the time I started to freak out, afraid he wasn't going to like having you, he started smiling. He was soo happy." Lorelai smiled, remembering the moment. 'Maybe this was just like that, only it's bigger so he freaked out more than he did then'. She sighed, not wanting to think about it for a while. She knew that when she went back downstairs, Luke would be there and they had to talk. So if she wanted some time to regain herself, it had to be here, with Lucan.

She picked a pair of pajamas out of his closet. "Do you feel like wearing the blue ones with the cars?" She looked at her son, who smiled. "I'll take that as a yes." She took of his clothes, changed his diaper and helped him in his pajama. Then she sat down in the big rocking chair Luke made for her, with Lucan in her lap, and looked around. Every piece of furniture in the room was made by Luke. She remembered the day he showed it to her. She was so amazed by all of it. She knew how much time it must have cost, and the work was so secure and precise. She shook the thoughts out of her mind. She was still angry at him and didn't want to think about all the nice things he did for her. The things that showed his love for her, and for Lucan and Rory. Instead she picked up a book and started reading until Lucan fell asleep in her arms.

-xxxxxx-

Downstairs Luke moved into the kitchen. He didn't want to be the first thing she saw downstairs. He knew she needed space and if he was in the living room, he would be invading that space. Being in the kitchen, he tried to remember the last time he ate. Breakfast, when he made oatmeal for both Lucan and him. He remembered how Lorelai had to run into the bathroom when the scent entered her nose, causing her to throw up once again. He walked to the fridge and opened it. There was a big bowl of macaroni and cheese. He figured that was what Rory cooked for Lorelai. He hated that she didn't have something healthy to eat, but shook the thought out of his mind, knowing that all of this was his fault. Afraid to make anything that would smell and could possible cause Lorelai nausea, he made himself a sandwich instead.

He sat down at the kitchen table and started eating. He kept replaying the events of the day in his mind, hating himself more and more every time he thought of it again. He never thought he could be the guy who left his wife because she got pregnant. Technically that wasn't the case, but it still felt the same. He tried to think of a reason why getting twins would be so bad, and for the first time that day, he couldn't think of any. Even though Lucan kept them awake for hours during the night, he loved everything about that baby stage. Having a kid that depended on him so much, that couldn't be without him. It felt just so great. Ever since they decided to have another kid, he couldn't wait to have that again. And now he would have it not only with one kid, but with two at the time. If it felt great with one, how would it feel with two? He tried to think if there was a word for it. He smiled, knowing that Lorelai would be able to come up with one.

He didn't know how long it was, when Lorelai finally came downstairs. She walked straight into the kitchen. "I thought you left."

"Why?" He looked at her.

"Because you weren't in the living room."

"I told you I'm not going to leave again. I meant that."

"Uhuh." She sat down at the table with him, knowing that they had to talk at some point.

"I made tea, do you want some?"

"Sure."

He stood up and walked to the counter. He took a cup from the cupboard and filled it with steaming tea. "You have every right to hate me. I hate myself right now." He turned around to look at her. "I don't know what happened today. When Doctor Elder said we are getting twins something snapped and I freaked out so much that I forgot everything around me. I forgot about you." He closed his eyes and put his left hand to his temple, applying pressure trying to ease the headache that was forming. "I forgot about you. I don't think I can ever forgive myself for doing that. This morning when Michel called me, my heart stopped. I ran all the way to the Inn, with Lucan in my arms. When I walked in and saw you lying on the floor, my heart stopped again. I was so worried. I don't know what happened that made me forget all of that, but I know I can never forgive myself."

Lorelai stared at her husband. The time she spent with Lucan eased her anger. It was out of her system and all she felt now was sadness. "I called Rory and she took me home. Part of me was hoping you'd be here when we came home, but part of me knew you wouldn't be. I was still disappointed when I got confirmation of that. I was so worried. I thought you left me for good."

His eyes shot open wide and he stared at her in shock. When he recovered he took a few big steps back towards the table. He put her mug in front of her and sat down, pulling his chair close to hers. He took her hands in his. "I would never, ever leave you. You hear me, never."

Lorelai's eyes filled with tears, and they spilled when she tried to blink them away. "I was so scared. I really thought you were going to leave me, Luke. Leave me all alone to raise 3 little kids. I know we're going to be fine if we do it together, but I can not do it by myself. I just can't."

"You don't have to. We're in this together. You were right this morning you know. It will be twice as much work, but we'll get twice as much love too. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, and I'm sincerely happy about this now. We're getting two kids. If there would have been any doubt that with one baby our family would be complete, I know that with two there won't be."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." He smiled. "I married you because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know there will be good moments and there will be bad. The whole situation today is a bad moment, but what we got out of it, that's definitely a good thing. I love you so much Lorelai."

"I love you too." She leaned forwards and rested her head on his shoulder; his arms went safely around her.

"When I was at my parent's graves, I couldn't help but think that's what I want too."

"What?" Her head shot up. "You want us to die?"

"Dear god no." He realized his mistake. "50 years from now, when we're old and grey and have our great grandchildren walking around, and we pass away, I want us to get buried next to each other. I want to be beside you for the rest of my life, and after that."

"I like that." She smiled at him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Just don't tell my parents because they want me to get buried in their family grave. They are even willing to move some weird uncle to get you buried there too. I'm sure."

"What? You can't move people after they've been put to rest."

"I know, and don't worry. I don't want to be buried there. When the time comes I want to be buried here, in Stars Hallow. This is where I belong, next to you."

"Good." He smiled. "You know, I am more like my father than you'd think."

"How so?" She looked at him curiously.

"When my mother found out she was pregnant with Liz, he took off. He totally freaked out at the thought of raising two kids, even though she was planned. He ended up at Buddy and Maisy's just like I did, and he talked to Buddy and he calmed him down. In the end my dad ended up feeling guilty of course, because Buddy and Maisy never had the luck of getting a kid themselves, but they were okay. They loved me and Liz as if we were their kids, and spoiled us as much as possible."

Lorelai smiled. "They are really nice people."

"Yeah they are."

"I wish I could have met your real parents, but it feels like they make up for it."

"They do. There are many things I couldn't have done without them."

Lorelai leaned in and kissed him again. "I couldn't have done many things without you. I know it's not the same, but true anyway."

"You don't need me. I'm lost without you however. I'm so sorry about today Lorelai."

"I know. It's okay. Let's forget about what happened, and focus on the future. Now we're having two kids, the house problem is even bigger."

"No it's not. We can add two rooms, one for each baby. We'll make one of the rooms into an office first so we can work from home and take care of them here when we want, and when they get older and both want a room of their own, we can give one of them the office."

"Sounds like you thought it through."

"At some point I started thinking rational and practical. It took me a while to get there though. I'm sorry."

"If you say it one more time…."

"Sorry, I won't say it anymore."

She hit him.

"What?"

"Nothing. She kissed him. "What time is it?"

He looked at his watch. "A little after nine."

"I can't believe how tired I am."

"Then let's go to bed. It's been a long day, and I still have to wake you up every four hours."

"Good luck with that." She smiled.

"Yeah, yeah." He smiled back.

"Come on." She stood up and took his hand in hers.

"I thought I had to sleep on the couch tonight?"

"So did I, but you just got yourself promoted to the bed."

T.B.C.


	13. Talking some more

_A/N: Perfectly on schedule, the next chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter and thanks to LorelaiAkaCoffeeAddict for proofreading!  
__Starting my second internship tomorrow, so I have to travel back and forward every weekend now, as it's about 3 hours apart by train. I'm starting tonight and won't be back until Friday afternoon. I thought I had internet at my room, but I forgot to ask if it was a DSL line. I assumed it was, thinking everybody has fast-speed internet nowadays, at least in the Netherlands, but of course I was wrong. Stupid me. At least I'll be able to check my email at the hospital during the week and if necessary do it at my room, but I can't stay online long because that'll cost a lot. Which means I won't have normal internet access until I'm home during the weekends. So if I'm reading your stories and don't review as much as I did the past week and half, you know why. As for updating, I'll have my laptop with me and write whenever something comes to me and I feel like writing so the updates should be as they are right now. Okay, enough said. Start reading the chapter and, of course, don't forget to review once you're finished!_

**Chapter 13 Talking some more**

The next Friday night dinner, Luke and Lorelai decided to tell Richard and Emily the news about the twins. "We have some news." They were all sitting down, with drinks in their hands. Everybody turned to look at Lorelai, Rory smiled, knowing what was coming.

"We had an ultrasound a few days ago, and there's not one baby in here, but two. Luke and I are getting twins."

"Really?" Emily started smiling. "I'm getting two more grandchildren?"

"That's what I'm saying mom."

"That's wonderful. Congratulations." Spontaneously Emily stood up, walked towards her daughter and gave her a hug, surprising everybody else, including Lorelai who needed a few seconds to regain from the shock before she hugged her mother back.

"Wow." Lorelai smiled, when her mother finally let her go.

Emily walked to Luke and shook his hand, deciding against giving him a hug as well. Then she sat down while Richard stood up and followed her example. When everybody was sitting again, Emily started thinking. "Say, Lorelai?"

"Yes mom?"

"Wasn't your OB-appointment in about 2 weeks from now?"

Lorelai looked at her mother, knowing she had to tell most of the truth now. "Yeah, it was."

"Then why did you have an ultrasound earlier this week? Is something wrong with the babies?"

"No, the babies are just fine. I was in the hospital after I fainted and they decided to check the baby as well, did an ultrasound, and found out we are getting twins. End of the story."

"Slow down there. You fainted?"

I was at the inn to tell Sookie that I'm pregnant. One thing I know is that I'm telling Sookie I wasn't sick, but having morning sickness, next thing I know is that I'm lying on the floor with all sorts of people around me. Later at the hospital they told us that it's not uncommon to have a low blood pressure early in a pregnancy, and that causes dizziness and sometimes fainting. Nothing to worry about. Normally you just wake up a few seconds later, no problem. I hit my head when I fell down however, so I was out a little longer. They called for an ambulance and took me to the hospital. I only have a mild concussion, so you don't have to worry. It causes nausea which I already have anyway, and a headache. But it's getting better."

"And when were you planning on telling me this Lorelai?" Emily was hurt they waited a few days before they told her.

"Now, I just did. Look, there was nothing to worry about and we didn't want to worry you so we didn't tell you immediately. I know that was wrong, I'm sorry." Lorelai hoped she was able to leave out the true reason, for both her and for Luke.

Emily looked at her daughter, trying to figure out if there was something else she was not telling her. The old Emily would have done everything possible to get that information out of her daughter at the exact moment, but now she decided to let it go, and to go by for a visit later and talk to her daughter. Now was not the time.

-xxxxxx-

Luke was at the diner, and Lucan was taking his afternoon nap, while Lorelai was hanging out in front of the TV the following day. Rory and Warren were staying at school to study that weekend. Lorelai was about to turn of the TV, frustrated that there was nothing good, when the doorbell rang. Pleased to have something else to do she turned the TV off and walked towards the front door. She was surprised when she saw her mother standing on the other side. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Lorelai."

"Sorry mom. Hi. You want to come in?"

"Yes please."

Lorelai took Emily's coat. "Do you want some coffee or tea?"

"Tea's fine."

"Okay, make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back." Lorelai walked into the kitchen. She filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove. While she waited for the water to boil, she took two cups from the cabinet and took out the tea box. Walking into the living room she asked. "Do you want some of the herbal tea Luke always drinks or some normal tea? We also have fruit flavored. Strawberry, orange or peach."

"Herbal tea, please."

"Okay." She walked back into the kitchen and took one bag of herbal tea and one bag of strawberry flavored from the box, put them in the cups, and put the tea box back in the cabinet. Then she took a tray where she put on the cups, a dish and the sugar pot. By the time she was done the water boiled. She poured it into the cups, then picked up the tray and walked into the living room. She put the tray on the table so that the right cup was in front of Emily. Sitting down next to her mother she asked. "Do you want to tell me why you're here now? Not that I mind you being here, because I don't. It's just that we've seen you yesterday and you didn't mention coming by."

"I just wanted to talk to you Lorelai."

"Okay…" She stretched the word. "About what?"

"About what you told me yesterday. I had the feeling that you left something out."

"I told you I fainted, that we went to the hospital, that I have a mild concussion and that we found out I'm pregnant with twins. What do you think I left out?"

"I don't know, you will have to tell me."

Lorelai looked at her mother. She didn't want to tell her mother what happened, afraid she was going to hate Luke again, just like she did when she just started seeing him. Things were better now, and she didn't want that to change.

"I've got a feeling you're not telling me everything. What happened after you found out you're getting twins?"

Lorelai closed her eyes and sighed. "Luke left me."

"What?" Emily turned to look her daughter in the eyes. "He did what?" She didn't sound mad, only surprised.

"He freaked out at the idea of getting two kids at the same time, so much that he ran away. He forgot about me. I know what you're thinking right now mom, but everything is okay now. It was a very bad day, one I really want to forget about soon, but we solved everything that same day. We're okay now. I promise."

"He left you at the hospital? How did you get home?"

"I called Rory. She picked me up, drove me home, and spend the day with me until Luke came home."

"And you just forgave him when he did?"

"No, I didn't. Of course not. I was so mad at him for leaving me in the hospital without any money. And I was afraid, afraid he wasn't going to come back. He called me after a few hours to apologize, but that only ended up in a fight. A few hours after that he came home, after I specifically told him not to. There was another fight, but after bringing Lucan to bed I calmed down enough to listen to what he had to say, and he was so sorry for what happened. I didn't want to just forgive him, and I didn't. But I understand and I know how much he hates himself for the things that happened. And really, I'm just glad that he came around and that we're going to do this together. It was a lot of work raising one kid by myself, and I don't think I could have handled raising three at a time."

"But you don't have to."

"Fortunately not. Tell me what you're thinking mom. Do you hate him now?"

"Do you hate him?"

"No, of course not."

"Then neither do I."

"Really?" Lorelai wasn't convinced.

"I know that when you first started dating, I wasn't very fond of Luke. But in the past year and a half I started to see what a good man he actually is. I always wanted the wrong things for you Lorelai, things you didn't want. But honestly, I knew how much Luke meant to you and I was afraid to lose you."

"Why?"

"He was everything you ever wanted, whether you knew it at that moment or not. For years I've seen you falling in love with him, and when you finally got together, I knew it would be forever. This was the guy you were settling down with and starting your own family with at some point. I know Rory was your family, and that you raised her without our help, but you came to us when you needed money. At that point I was finally able to help you and had to come up with a solution to see you on a regular basis. So that's when Friday night dinner started. I knew that you those dinners and that I was forcing you to go. But I knew that if I didn't do it, I would never see you or Rory. I knew that we were still paying for Yale, and that Friday night dinners were still on. But this was Rory's deal and even though you came, you didn't really have to. And I was afraid that when you and Luke started dating, at some point you'd stop going and I'd never see you again. I knew that you wouldn't even need me for money anymore. As much as I think that a diner owner doesn't make very much money, you'd have two incomes and that's good enough to safe money to pay for schools when your kids would grow up."

"So you tried to break us up?"

Emily closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. "That is the most selfish thing I have ever done, and the thing I most regret. I was turning into your grandmother. I can't believe how low I sank at that time, and I still can't believe that you forgave me. Lorelai, I'm so sorry that that ever happened, and if there was a way to make it undone, I'd do it right away."

"What's done is done. It was probably the most difficult time in my life, but we moved past it and in the end Luke and I came out of it a lot stronger."

"I was a fool, thinking you were supposed to be with Christopher. He hurt you and Rory so many times, and still I wanted the two of you to be together, as if it was right. I've never been more wrong in my life. When I see you and Luke together, I know you are meant to be together. I now realize that if you hadn't gotten pregnant with Rory, Christopher would already be out of your life."

Lorelai smiled. "I haven't seen him in years, and to be honest, that's fine by me. The only reason I kept in contact with him was for Rory. He's her father and she wanted him in her life, which automatically meant my life. Even Rory hasn't seen him in years, and she told me several times she's fine with it. If he doesn't want her, she doesn't want him. She says she already has another father, a real one."

"Luke."

"Yeah. He's been there for her the whole time. From the day we met him, he's always been there for us. You know I've been teasing him for two full years, calling him Duke instead of Luke?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Honestly, I don't know anymore. At the time I thought it was funny, but now I think it's childish. Even then he was there for us, fixing stuff around my house, helping out with Rory when I needed help. And we got closer and closer and from my best male friend, he became my boyfriend and then my husband. I've known him for eleven years now, that's half of Rory's life so yeah, he's been more a father to her than Christopher ever was and will ever be. Even if he suddenly decides to show up he's never going to make up for the lost time. Although I doubt if she will ever let him in again."

"He doesn't deserve to be let in again."

"No he doesn't. I know that Luke and I fight sometimes, but that's normal right?"

"Of course. Your father and I fight too. They say that you fight when you care, and if you stop fighting, you don't care enough."

"Then we must have really cared about each other all those years." Lorelai smiled and Emily smiled back. "But I guess that's more a husband/wife sort of thing, not a mother/daughter thing. This feels way better. Thanks for stopping by today mom."

"You're welcome Lorelai."

"To be honest I was afraid to tell you."

"Why?"

"Because I was afraid you'd be mad at Luke. I know he deserves it, but it's something between him and me."

"I know, and I respect that. I know that if this would have happened two or three years ago, the situation would have been different, but I learned a lot in between."

"I know. I did too."

"I'm glad you told me, because you could have just denied that there was something else and I would have believed you."

"Yeah, right. You can see right through me when I lie. Otherwise you wouldn't have shown up on my doorstep in the first place."

"I am still your mother you know, even though you're almost 40 years old."

"Don't say that, it takes another year. I'm not ready for that yet."

Emily smiled. "Time goes by fast enough. I still remember when you were a baby and I held you in my arms for the very first time. Sometimes it feels as if it was yesterday."

"I know what you're talking about. It's like one moment they put Rory on my stomach for the very first time, and now she's almost graduating college."

Emily looked at her watch. "As much as I'm enjoying this, I have to go. Your father and I have to go to a dinner party and I have to do some things before we can leave. As much as I don't want to go, I still have to."

"I understand. Then I'll go see if my son is awake and pay my husband a visit at the diner."

Emily stood up and they walked to the hallway, where Lorelai helped Emily into her coat.

"Thank you for the tea Lorelai."

"You're welcome mom. We should do that more often."

"Yes we should." With a big smile on her face, Emily walked towards her car.

-xxxxxx-

When Lucan woke up about an hour later, Lorelai decided to go to the diner. It was cold, the world was white, covered in snow, but the sun was shining which made it very pleasant to be outside. Lorelai dressed herself warm, and did the same with her son. Once she was outside she took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air.

The walk to the diner didn't go as fast as she wanted though. The town heard what happened with Lorelai a few days ago, and that an ambulance had taken her to the hospital. She hadn't been outside since, and somehow they had respected her privacy and stayed away from her house. But now she was throwing herself in front of the lions without even realizing it. All she wanted was to see Luke and spend some time out of the house.

Miss Patty saw Lorelai coming from far. "Lorelai, I heard you were taken to the hospital by an ambulance a few days ago. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Lorelai tried to walk further, but Miss Patty stood in front of the stroller. Before Lorelai realized what happened, Babette joined them as well.

"Lorelai sugar, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Babette."

"But I heard they took you to the hospital. You haven't left the house in a couple of days. Even Luke hasn't."

"Luke's at the diner now Babette."

"No, he's not sugar. We just came from there."

"What?"

"What happened?" Miss Patty insisted on getting some more information.

"I fainted, hit my head and someone called an ambulance. I have a mild concussion, nothing serious. Just a little head-ache but that's all. I promise."

"You fainted? How did that happen?"

Lorelai hadn't told them about the pregnancy yet. Knowing she couldn't put off telling the town much longer, she decided to tell the truth. "They say it's not uncommon early in a pregnancy."

Both women stared at Lorelai in shock. "You're pregnant?"

"Sure am. With twins."

"You and Luke are getting twins? That's great sugar."

"Thanks Babette."

"Congratulations Lorelai."

"Thank you Patty. Now, if you don't mind. I was on my way to the diner and Lucan here's getting cold."

"Sure, go sugar. We don't want that to happen."

Lorelai watched how both women ran away, probably informing the rest of the town about her pregnancy. She wondered why they said Luke wasn't at the diner. Knowing she wouldn't get any information standing on the street, she started walking again.

Jake looked up when he saw Lorelai entering the diner. "Hey Lorelai."

"Hi Jake. Is Luke here?"

"No, he left a few hours ago. Had some errands to run or something. He said he'd be back before dinner rush." He looked at his watch. "I think in about an hour. Can I get you some coffee?"

"Don't tell me Luke didn't tell you not to give me any coffee for the next seven months."

Jake looked at the wife of his boss. Not knowing what kind of reply she was expecting. Suddenly it hit him. "Because of the pregnancy. Of course, I forgot. No coffee for you."

"Luke didn't tell you, did he?" She looked at him with a sad expression.

"Of course he did, I just forgot. It's been busy today so my brain isn't fully functioning anymore."

Lorelai could tell Jake was lying to cover for Luke.

"Can I get you something else? Luke said herbal tea is good for you."

"No thanks. I'll just go home. Don't tell Luke I was here okay?"

"Uh… sure."

"Come on buddy, let's go home." Lorelai looked at her son.

"Dadda."

"You're dad's not here kiddo. But I promise mommy will do something nice with you once we're home." Jake helped her with the door, when she pushed the stroller out of the diner. She didn't notice the snow anymore. The world suddenly seemed a lot less bright as it did only half an hour ago.

-xxxxxx-

It was already 8 o' clock when Luke came home that night. Lorelai was watching TV and Lucan was already asleep. "Hey."

Lorelai didn't look up. "Hey."

"How was your day?"

"Gee… I wonder how I could describe it."

"What happened?" He was instantly alarmed. He sat down on the coffee table in front of her, hoping to get her attention that was still focused on the television.

"You're blocking my view." She moved to the other side of the couch so she could see the television again.

Luke followed her moves. She seemed angry. He wondered what he did wrong. "Lorelai talk to me?"

"I just had a bad day okay. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay." He raised his eyebrows. Figuring it was better to leave her alone for a while, he stood up. "Did you eat already?"

"I ordered a pizza."

"I'm making dinner. Do you want something else?"

"Nope."

He walked into the kitchen, wondering how he had deserved this treatment. He thought they had solved all their issues a few days ago and that they were doing fine right now. Obviously he was wrong. The best thing to do right now was to give her some space until she was willing to talk about what was bothering her. Normally he would have made himself a sandwich, but to gain some extra time he decided to cook himself a full meal.

Half an hour later his dinner was finished and he walked into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Lorelai, his plate in his lap. He knew it was better to stay away from her while she was angry, but he didn't like to be pushed away. And part of him hoped that she wasn't angry anymore. But when she didn't even look up when he sat down, he knew that was false hope. He took a few bites before he couldn't take her silence anymore. "Are you going to tell me what I did wrong, or do I have to guess?"

For the first time since Luke came home, Lorelai turned to look at her husband. "As if you don't know what's wrong."

"If I knew I wouldn't ask."

"Where were you today?"

He looked at her in confusion. "I was working."

"Don't lie to me Luke. I was at the diner and you weren't there."

"You were at the diner? Jake didn't tell me you were there."

"Because, I told him not to tell you. Now, where were you?"

"I was running some errands. Last time I checked I didn't have to tell you everything I do during my working days."

"I don't ask you about everything you do, I asked you where you were."

"Like I said, I was out running some errands."

"That's the most vague answer I can think off." Anger was obvious in her voice and could be read of her facial expression.

"Come on. I don't understand why you're so mad."

"What if I needed you?"

"I had my cell phone on. You could have called me."

She picked up the remote that was laying on the couch next to her, hit the pause button and threw the remote towards Luke. "Whatever." She ran upstairs and a few seconds later he heard their bedroom door slam shut.

He took a few more bites of his dinner, but wasn't hungry anymore. With a sigh he stood up and walked into the kitchen, disposed his dinner of in the trash and put his plate and fork in the dishwasher. After that he leaned against the counter, thinking back to the previous days. He caused Lorelai enough stress already, and suddenly he was worried. Even though he knew it was better to let her cool off, he climbed the stairs towards their bedroom. First he checked on Lucan to see if the noise woke him up, but he was sound asleep. With a small smile on his face, he closed the door and walked towards their bedroom. Before opening the door, he listened. He heard Lorelai sniffling and knew she was crying. Hating that he caused this, he knocked on the door.

"Go away."

He sighed and opened the door.

"I said go away." She tried to hide her face so he wouldn't see that she was crying, but she should have known better, knowing he always knew no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

He sat down on the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at his touch so he pulled his hand away, slightly hurt. "Listen, I'm sorry."

"Just leave me alone okay. I want to be alone for a while."

"No, I'm not leaving you like this. I want to tell you where I was. First I went to Woodbury for a meeting with our architect. I gave him the blueprints of the house and told him what we want to change and how. We talked through some ideas and he promised to make the first drawings and give them to us next week. He has some very good ideas. He said that if we add to the bottom floor, it might be nice to add to the top floor as well, to create some extra space there. He'll come up with different plans so we can decide what we want. You always wanted a bigger bedroom with a walk-in-closet, so I figured that was possible now. And it's possible to make Lucan's room bigger as well, although I personally think it's fine the way it is. After the meeting I went to the hardware store and picked up some paint samples. I know that it will take a few months to rebuild everything, but I thought it was nice to talk about how we want everything to look and I know it makes it easier to visualize for you."

She wiped at her eyes before she turned to look at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, I wanted to surprise you with the drawings of the bigger bedroom."

She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I could have told you that I had a meeting with the architect today and still surprise you with the drawings later. I'm an idiot."

"No you're not. You're sweet. I'm sorry for not trusting you."

"What do you mean, not trusting me?"

She turned to look away from him, not wanting to see his face when she told him this. "I walked towards the diner this afternoon. First I ran into Miss Patty and Babette who asked me what happened at the inn the other day. I figured it was a good time to tell them about the twins. While I mentioned I was on my way to see you, they said you were not there. I immediately came up with the worse scenarios in my mind, but figured I'd better go to the diner to see for myself. When Jake said you were gone for a few hours to run some errands, without further explanation those scenarios came back. Especially when he offered me coffee."

"Huh?"

"You didn't forbid him to give me coffee. When I was pregnant with Lucan you made sure nobody in Stars Hallow would give me coffee. Not even decaf because you wanted to control my intake. I figured you just didn't care this time."

"Why would you think that? Of course I don't want you to drink coffee, but I trust you in that decision. I know how happy you were when you found out you're pregnant and you voluntarily started drinking tea. I just figured I didn't have to tell them not to give you any coffee because I know you won't ask for it. Nothing more, nothing less. But if it makes you feel better I'll call every coffee place in Connecticut to make sure they won't give you coffee, and even all the surrounding states if you want me to."

A small smiled appeared on her face. "Thank you for trusting me. But I don't deserve it. You know where I thought you were?"

"No." He shook his head.

"With your girlfriend." Her voice was so low he didn't even know if he heard her right.

"With my what?"

"Girlfriend." Her voice was just as soft as the first time.

He softly turned her around and made him look in her eyes. She closed them when she saw the hurt in there. "Why would you think that?"

"Because it's easier. That way you don't have the responsibility to take care of three children below the age of two, you don't have to worry about my adult daughter and most importantly, you wouldn't have to deal with your hormonal, soon to be fat, wife."

He suddenly realized that even though she had forgiven him for what he did, he gave her more than enough reasons not to trust him anymore and to come up with crazy scenarios like this in her mind. "Open your eyes."

Hearing the softness in his voice she did what he asked her. She expected to see an angry look on his face, or at least a hurt one, but all she saw was sympathy.

"Lorelai, I'm so sorry for what I did. If there was any way I could change what I did, I would. I promise you, I won't ever leave you. I didn't think I was capable of loving a woman the way I love you. I didn't think I would be a husband or a father, until I met you. And for the past few days I've hated myself for jeopardizing what we have. You have every reason not to trust me right now, and I honestly don't know what I have to do to regain your trust. But believe me, I would do anything possible to accomplish that."

"I didn't even know I didn't trust you until today. I hate myself for not trusting you Luke. You're the only man in my life I have ever trusted and I thought nothing could ever change that. Even when all of this happened, deep in my heart I still trusted you and I don't know when that changed." Her eyes filled with tears when she spoke the words out loud.

"Don't hate yourself Lorelai." He wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I know it will take time, but I promise everything is going to be okay."

"But you don't deserve this Luke. All you did today was being nice for me and you come home tired and you have to deal with me."

"I do deserve it. I still don't believe how easily you forgave me."

"I wasn't planning on forgiving you, but I realized that you were sorry for what you did and I was tired of fighting."

"But you're partially still mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you Luke. I'm just disappointed."

"I don't know what's worse."

She smiled slightly. "I did forgive you. We have to move past this and it will just take a while before I learn to fully trust you again. Just make sure not to give me a reason not to trust you. Then I think we'll be okay."

"Why does that sound so complicated?"

"Probably because it is. Don't try to surprise me. Just tell me if you're going somewhere and don't keep any secrets for me."

"I can try to do that."

"Okay, then we'll be fine." She kissed him with a smile. "You better stay away from the town tomorrow. I'm sure everybody will bug you with questions about the pregnancy."

He made sure she was looking directly into his eyes when he replied. "I don't care if they bug me about it every single day for the rest of the pregnancy, I'll be proud to answer all the questions."

"Even about how these two got here in the first place? I'm sure they'll ask questions like if it took extra effort to make twins or other questions like that."

"We do live in Stars Hallow, don't we? Okay, so I know some questions will annoy me, I would reply that it's none of their business how these two got in there. All that matters is how proud I am that they are."

"Really?"

"Really."

-xxxxxx-

"Luke?" Kirk ran into the diner the next morning.

Lorelai was sitting at a table back in the diner, feeding Lucan breakfast when she heard the bell jingle. She looked up to follow the conversation between Kirk and her husband.

"Yes Kirk?"

Kirk, who didn't notice Lorelai, focused all his attention on Luke, while he sat down on one of the stools. "I heard Lorelai is pregnant with twins."

"You heard right Kirk."

"Good."

"What can I get you Kirk?"

"Actually, I came here for some advice."

Lorelai started smiling, knowing what was coming next. She put another spoon of oatmeal in Lucan's mouth so he wouldn't make any noise and blow their cover. She learned to block out the scent and feed Lucan breakfast without getting nauseas.

"Advice about what?" Luke saw Lorelai looking at him and knew she heard every word of their conversation.

"Lulu and I were talking about kids the other day. She said she would really like to have twins. She thinks it's cute to have two kids who look completely the same, plus that way she has to be pregnant once to get two kids. Now I went online and tried to find information about how you can get pregnant with twins, but I didn't really find anything specific. Only about one egg and two eggs but that was not where I was looking for."

"And what do you want from me?"

"Well, you know. What did you do different this time compared to when you got Lorelai pregnant with Lucan."

"Kirk." Luke looked at him annoyed. He saw the big smile on Lorelai's face that obviously told him 'I told you so.'

"Come on Luke, I have to know."

Luke sighed. "There was no difference. It has nothing to do with how you do it, it's a miracle you can't influence."

"Are you sure?"

"I was there Kirk."

"Oh….."

"But you might want to think very clearly about having a baby in the first place Kirk. They're not just fun. They cry a lot, especially during the night. They take away all your free time. You can't go out anymore, you hardly have time for yourself. They're a big responsibility."

"I know that Luke. But you're right. I'll think about it again. Thanks for talking to me."

"Anytime, Kirk." With a smile he watched how Kirk walked away. He shook his head, then picked up the tea pot and walked towards Lorelai. He refilled her cup and sat down next to her. "Before you doubt my honesty about how I feel about those two babies in there, I said those things to Kirk, because I feel sorry for the kid who's going to have him as a father. I think a lot of people who shouldn't have kids, get them, and if there's any way I can get Kirk to think about this a little more and prevent that he's ever going to have kids, I will. But that has nothing to do with how I feel about having kids, because even though I like sleeping during the night, I don't mind waking up because my kid needs me. And even though it gets easier once they are bigger, I really liked the stage where Lucan completely depended on me. Every day he learns something new and I love seeing that, but it also makes me realize that he doesn't need me as much."

Lorelai smiled. "It will take a long time before they don't need you anymore, trust me. I like to believe that even Rory still needs me, even if it is for different things than when she was a kid."

"That's good."

"And even if there comes a day that neither of our kids needs us anymore, I'll still need you."

"You don't need me. But I like that thought. Thank you." He kissed her.

"I told you someone would come in here and ask you about that."

"Yeah yeah, and I'm sure you knew that someone would be Kirk."

"He is kind of predictable."

"Yeah he is."

"I still can't believe you pushed him to ask me out all those years ago. What were you thinking?"

"I don't think I was." He tried to safe himself.

"Dada." Lucan tried to get Lorelai's attention. His plate still wasn't empty.

"Yeah yeah." Lorelai said, ignoring Lucan.

"I swear. If I was thinking I would have asked you out myself. Plus, I knew you would never say yes to him anyway."

"So you thought it's nice to make fun of me huh."

"Dada." The boy stretched his arm towards Lorelai and grabbed the sleeve of her shirt.

Lorelai turned to look at her son. "I'm mamma and I'm talking to your daddy right now. You have to wait a little honey." She turned back to Luke.

"I was not making fun of you."

"Oh please."

"Okay I admit, I did think it was funny. I honestly didn't think he was even going to ask you in the first place. And I was kind of hoping that if he was, he would do it in here so I could see the look on your face. I'm sure it was priceless."

"Thank you." She stuck out her tongue.

"I'm sorry. But why should we fight about that now? It worked out fine. We're married right now, have an amazing son and two kids on the way. And Kirk… well, he's still Kirk."

"You're right." She leaned in to kiss him. Right before her lips touched his she whispered. "It worked out perfectly." Then her lips landed on his.

"Mam…ma." Lucan screamed, annoyed he wasn't getting his mother's attention.

Lorelai pulled away from Luke by instant, turning around to look at her son. "What did you say?"

"Mamma." The boy smiled, happy he finally got his mother's attention.

Lorelai smiled and turned towards Luke. "Did you hear that? He can say it!"

"I definitely did." He kissed her lips lightly before he stood up and kissed his son on the top of his head. "You made your mommy very happy son. Good job." Then he stood up and walked back to the counter where a customer was waiting for him. From the corner of his eye he saw how Lorelai focused on feeding Lucan again, her smile bigger than he'd seen in days.

T.B.C.


	14. Lucan's first birthday

_A/N: Hey everybody. I owe you all a huge apology for not updating sooner. Getting used to a new schedule demanded more time than I thought, and I couldn't get inspired. But things settled down a little. I'm getting used to my new working hours and traveling between my home and where I live now during the weekend. I actually started this chapter on the train yesterday when I drove the train back to my 'work-town'. I finished half a chapter, then started all over again and had to stop when I had to transfer to the next train. Because my battery was almost empty I had to wait until today before I was able to finish my chapter. Finally! It's Monday evening now, and because I don't have internet here, I have to wait until tomorrow before I can update. I decided to update without having it read by my amazing beta, just because I don't want to wait any longer with updating. I promise I will send you my next chapter again, because I really appreciate your opinion! Don't be mad ;)  
This chapter takes place a few weeks after the last one. It's Lucan's first birthday! I hope you all like it and don't forget to let me know in a review once you've finished reading!_

**Chapter 14 Lucan's first birthday **

Lorelai woke up when she heard Lucan's voice through the baby monitor. When she opened her eyes slowly, she suddenly remembered what today was. She was completely awake right away. She smiled when she looked at Luke. "Can you believe it's been a year since our son was born?"

"Unbelievable isn't it. That year went by so fast."

"I know. He's not a baby anymore now."

"He's still the same as he was yesterday."

"You know what I mean. He changed so much the past few weeks. He can sit and stand by himself, he's trying to walk. He can say mamma and dada."

"He's growing up so fast."

"Yeah."

They listened in silence to Lucan for a while before they decided to get out of bed. "Let's get him breakfast. Rory and Warren will be here around 10 o clock so we can do the presents then? We can put him down for a nap early so he's awake when everybody else comes at 3."

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into giving him a party."

"Don't tell me you still think he's not going to like it."

"I still do. But hey, let's hope I'm wrong because I want our son to have a great time on his first birthday."

"So do I. Let's get the birthday boy out of bed first." She stepped out of bed, put her robe on, tying it around her stomach and watched how Luke got out of bed as well. They hold hands when they walked towards their son's bedroom. When they opened the door they saw how the boy was standing up in his bed, smiling when his parents came into view.

"Mamma. Dada."

Lorelai started singing. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Lucan, happy birthday to you."

Lucan raised his eyebrows. He wasn't used to his mother being this happy early in the morning. But he liked it so he started smiling.

"Come here sweetie." Lorelai lifted her son out of his bed, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Happy birthday sweetie." After giving him a big hug she handed him to Luke. "Your turn."

"Happy birthday little boy." Luke kissed the boy on the top of his head. "Let's go downstairs. I'm sure you're hungry."

"He is my son after all." Lorelai smiled, and together they went downstairs.

"So, what do you think for your special birthday breakfast?" Luke asked Lucan.

"Dada."

"How about oatmeal?"

"So much for special. That's what he gets every day."

"So? He likes it."

Lorelai had to admit that was true. She still couldn't understand how both her men could get the stuff down their throats and was happy her morning sickness stopped completely. Although ever since then, she hated oatmeal even more than before. "As long as I don't have to eat it."

"How about pancakes?"

"Chocolate chip?"

"Only because it's our son's first birthday."

"I feel very special." She took Lucan from Luke's arms. "You're the best."

"Thanks." With a small smile on his face, Luke walked into the kitchen.

Lorelai sat down on the couch with Lucan. "When it's your sister's birthday, I wake her up at the time she was born. But since you're born in the evening, we have to start a new tradition. A year ago I woke up looking this fat." Lorelai indicated with her hand how big her stomach was, and smiled when she saw the small bump where the twins were growing behind.

Lucan looked at his mother's hand with a smile, smacking his hand on top of it.

"Funny sweetie." She put his hand in hers and rested it on his leg. "I woke up looking that fat and I felt like you would never coming out. It was one more week until my due-date so I didn't expect anything to happen, although I prayed every night you would finally come out. Honestly I was happy you were still in there because you scared me to death a few weeks earlier, but you were okay and was very anxious to meet you. My back ached, my ankles were swollen and I had to pie every few minutes. I went to the diner and after having breakfast I went upstairs to lie down for a while because my back was killing me. When your daddy came to check up on me the contractions suddenly started. Because they weren't very strong and I was afraid they would stop before we reached the hospital, we stayed at the apartment for a while."

Lucan looked at his mother with interest. He had no idea what she was telling him, but he liked the tone in her voice and the attention he was getting.

"We still didn't know what we were going to name you. We've thought about it for a long time, and we couldn't decide. So that's what we did while we were waiting to see what the contractions were doing. I wanted to name you after your daddy, but he wouldn't hear any of it, but I could convince him to call you after his father. Your grandfather William. I never met him, but from what I heard, you can be very proud to carry his name. And somehow I could convince him to call you Lucas as well, and your first name was going to be Lucan. Of course by then we didn't knew you were a boy yet, so we came up with girls names too. After we decided what we were going to name you, the contractions became stronger and I let your dad drive me to the hospital. Man did that take a long time. Your dad was driving so slow. Everybody was passing us and it hurt so bad. All I wanted was drugs to make the pain go away, but your dad didn't listen to me when I told him to go faster.

When we finally made it to the hospital they found out I was dilated 6 centimeters already. Your sister never wanted to come out, but you were curious to come into the world so you were a lot faster. And after they gave me some drugs it wasn't that hard. Before I knew they wheeled me into the delivery room and after 20 minutes of pushing you came out. It hurt like hell and I was so tired, but when they put you on my stomach and I could meet you the very first time, all I could do was cry. I was so happy."

Lucan looked up when he felt his mother kiss him on top of his head before she continued.

"I can't believe it's a year later already. Time went by so fast. Unbelievable."

"I agree." Luke walked in with the plates. "What were you telling him?"

"The story about when he was born. I do that with Rory every year on her birthday. I wake her up at 4.03 a.m. because that's when she was born. But since he's born in the evening and we'll have visitors then, I decided to tell him the story now."

"Did he like it?"

"Yes he did. He was listening very intense."

Luke smiled. "So, what about breakfast?"

"Please, I'm starved after all that talking, and I'm sure he is too after all that listening.

After breakfast they showered and got dressed, and Lucan got a bath. They were back downstairs a little before ten and had to wait for Rory to come. Lorelai was very excited to give Lucan his presents and hated that she agreed to wait for Rory. She yelled "finally" when she heard the front door opening a little after 10.

"We're not that late." Rory yelled towards her mother when she hung up her coat. Then she walked into the living room where Lorelai was sitting on the floor, playing with Lucan. She sat down next to them, giving her brother a kiss on his cheek. "Happy birthday."

Lucan looked up and smiled. "Mamma."

"I'm not mamma. I'm Rory. That's mamma." Rory pointed at her mother.

Lucan just smiled.

"It took me forever to teach him to say mamma so it'll take a while before he can say your name. Just be patient hon."

"I'll try to be."

"Where's Warren?"

"Outside helping Luke with something. Want me to get them?"

"Yes please. I really want to give Lucan his gifts."

"Okay." Rory stood up and walked toward the front porch. "Mom asks if you guys come inside so we can give Lucan his presents."

"Tell here we'll be right there."

"What's so important that can't wait an hour?" Lorelai was standing behind Rory now.

"We're putting up the banner you asked me to put up."

"Okay fine, 5 minutes, no more."

"5 minutes."

The girls walked inside and Lorelai walked into the kitchen to make coffee and tea.

"Is that still in the house?"

"Coffee?"

"Yeah. I can't believe Luke's okay with that."

"I know I made a big deal about the coffee thing when I was pregnant with Lucan, but I don't want to risk anything going wrong with these babies so I decided not to be stubborn and give up coffee while I'm pregnant."

"I didn't think I'd ever hear you say that."

"You already heard me say that a dozen times at least. You've been asking me this same question every time you're here and I offer to make you a cup of coffee."

"And I can't believe I get the same answer over and over again. I'm really proud of you mom."

"Thanks kid."

10 minutes later they were all sitting on the floor. Lucan was sitting in the middle, liking all the attention he was getting. The gifts were gathered around them. "Can I go first?" Lorelai was still impatient.

"Sure."

Lorelai picked up her gift and put it in Lucan's lap. The boy looked at the big thing at his lap and had trouble looking over it. He had no idea what he was supposed to do with it so Lorelai decided to help him a little by tearing at the paper. Lucan liked this game so he decided to help his mother and started tearing as well. He had small pieces of paper in his hands and liked the sound of the tearing paper. He made the pieces of paper smaller and smaller. They all had to laugh, even Lorelai. They ended up taking the paper from his hands so he could look at the gift. Lucan didn't like this though and started crying.

Lorelai took the little boy in her arms. "Shhh…. You can get the paper back later if you like okay? She showed him the box that was without wrapping paper now. "Look, this is a car where you can sit on top and then you can drive the car." She opened the box and took the car out. Then she put Lucan on top. They took a few pictures and took him off the car, which caused him to start crying again.

"Can I go now?" Rory asked.

"Sure." Lorelai handed her her brother. "Look what Rory has for you."

"Hey, look at this." She tried to comfort her little brother with the tone in her voice, and draw his attention to the gift in her hands. "Can you help me take the paper off so we can see what's inside?"

Together and without crying they managed to open the rest of the gifts. There were a lot of cars, because those were Lucan's favorite toys at the time. There were also some clothes and a pair of pajamas.

"Now it's time for the cake." Sookie was very disappointed that Luke wanted to make his son's birthday cake himself. She had a lot of idea's for a cake, so they agreed on making two. Luke made a small one which they would eat in the morning, and Sookie made a big one for the party in the afternoon. Luke's cake had chocolate and a lot of whip cream because those were Lucan's favorite flavors. Plus, Lorelai insisted on it. In the middle of the cake was one candle that was burning. They made a few pictures of that, and then Lorelai helped Lucan to blow out the candle and they cut the cake. After they all finished the cake, Lucan was getting tired, so they decided to put him in bed without lunch. He wouldn't be hungry after the cake anyway.

-xxxxxx-

A little after 3 the house was filled with people already, and more were coming every few minutes. Luke wondered if Lorelai invited everybody in town for this party, and still doubted if Lucan was going to like it. The birthday boy was still asleep upstairs, and they didn't want to wake him before he woke up by himself, knowing he would become cranky otherwise.

"Hey." Sookie walked in with Davy and Martha.

"Hey sweetie." Lorelai gave her best friend a hug.

"It's crowded in here."

"I know. I'm sure he'll love it."

"I'm sure he will. Where is he?"

"He's still asleep. He had a busy morning with unpacking gifts and eating cake and playing games with Rory and Warren but we put him in early so I'm sure he'll be awake soon. I'll go check up on him in a minute. Where's Jackson?"

"He had to deliver some vegetables in Litchfield but he'll be here in an hour or so."

"We'll see him then. Why don't you give the kids something to drink? All the food you brought is set up in the kitchen and there's a wide selection in drinks as well."

"I'll do that."

"Hey Luke?" Lorelai walked to her husband who was currently chatting with Andrew and Kirk."

"Sorry guys, but I have to go."

"Yeah the wife's calling." Kirk mocked.

Luke just turned around towards Lorelai. "How many people did you invite?"

"I don't remember. But I'm sure this isn't it."

"He's going to be terrified."

"No he won't. Trust me. Did you hear him yet?"

"No, but he should wake up soon. Do you want me to check up on him?"

"No, I just wanted to tell you that I was going to do that. Do you keep an eye on our guests?"

Luke sighed.

"Remember to be nice." She gave him a quick kiss before she climbed the stairs. She opened Lucan's bedroom door quietly, not wanting to wake him if he was still asleep.

"Mamma." Lucan was sitting up in his bed and was happy to see his mother.

"Hey sweetie. Were you awake already?" Lorelai walked to her son's crib and took him out. She hugged him for a minute or so, before she walked to the changing table. She changed his diaper and put his clothes back on. As a finishing touch she put his baseball cap on his head.

Lucan put his hand towards his cap, wanting to pull it off again.

Lorelai took his hand in his. "Don't do that sweetie. You look very cool, almost like your daddy. Come on, let's go downstairs. There are a lot of people here to see you." She walked downstairs.

Everybody started singing happy birthday when Lorelai came downstairs with Lucan in her arms. The little boy turned around in his mother's arms, not liking the hard noise when he just woke up.

They all walked towards Lorelai, wanting to congratulate the little boy. He started crying when everybody came too close. "Give him a little time okay? He just woke up so he just wants some space to breath. Lorelai walked into the kitchen, hoping to find a little quietness there, but it was just as full there as it was in the living room. Lucan hid his face in the hollow of Lorelai's neck, trying to shut everybody out.

Luke shook his head when he saw Lorelai and Lucan. He knew this was going to happen, but Lorelai wouldn't listen to him. He wanted to go to after her into the kitchen, when the doorbell rang. He walked to the front door and opened it, not surprised to see Richard and Emily on the other side. They were the only people to ring the doorbell on a party. "Hey, come in."

"Congratulations Luke." Emily shook Luke's hand.

"Congratulations." Richard followed Emily's example.

"Thanks. Can I take your coats?"

"Yes please." They both handed their coat to Luke. "Where's Lucan?"

"I believe he's in the kitchen with Lorelai. He just woke up so he's still a little shy. He doesn't like the crowdedness in here."

"I can imagine. This is no place for a young boy to be."

"I know, but I couldn't convince Lorelai to keep the party small so this is what we're getting. I'm sure it'll be better once he gets used to it. If you don't try to take him away from Lorelai, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

"We'll go see if that's true. Thanks for inviting us Luke."

"You're his grandmother Emily. You're supposed to come to his first birthday party."

Emily just nodded and then walked towards the kitchen, while Richard stayed behind. He took an envelope from his pocket. "This is for Lucan. I know Emily bought him a gift, but I figured this is something he can use when he gets older. I assume he has his own bank account?"

"He does. But it's not necessary."

"I know, but I like doing this."

"Thanks." Luke took the envelope from Richard and put it in his pocket. "I'll make sure it will be put in the right place and he does something nice with it when he's older."

"I'm sure you will. I'm going to find Lorelai now." And with that Richard walked away as well.

-xxxxxx-

"Hey, there's my grandson." Emily smiled when she got Lorelai and Lucan into view.

"Yes. Look who's there sweetie." Lorelai told her son, who was still hiding in her arms. "He's a little shy."

"So I heard. Big party."

"Yeah, almost everybody is here now."

"Nice of everybody to show up."

"Well, it is Stars Hallow and if you throw a party, everybody has to attend." That's when Lorelai noticed her father's absence. "Where's dad?"

"He was right behind me." Emily turned around to see where Richard went. When she didn't see him she turned back to face Lorelai. "I assume he's still talking to Luke."

"I'll see him later. Can I offer you something to drink?"

"I can help myself. You have your hands full."

"Thanks. Everything's on the counter. There's also cake and a lot of other food Sookie made."

"That's nice of her. But, didn't Luke want to make the cake?"

"He did, so he made the one we had this morning when we opened the presents with Lucan and Rory and Warren. He didn't want to bake a huge one, that's more Sookie's thing."

"How did he like his presents?"

"I think he liked the paper better. He didn't understood why we gave him something and then took it away from him again."

"It'll be better next year. You were exactly the same on your first birthday. You didn't like any of your gifts, but the wrapping paper was a lot of fun."

Lorelai smiled and saw her father walking into the kitchen, looking for her. "Dad, we're here."

"Oh, hello Lorelai. Congratulations with your son."

"Thanks."

A few minutes later Lucan got used to the crowdedness and wanted to leave the safe arms of his mother. He turned around to see everybody in the room and extended his arms towards his grandmother. "Mamma."

Emily took her grandson in her arms, very proud he wanted to come to her. "I'm grandma. But I think that's a little difficult for you to say. How do you like your birthday so far?"

Lucan smiled and pointed his finger towards the living room. "Dada."

"Yes, your dada is there. Do you want to go find him?"

When Richard and Emily walked away with Lucan, Lorelai went to find her daughter. She and Warren were talking to Lane in the living room. "Hey kid."

"Hey, where's Lucan?"

"With grandma."

"Oh, they're here? I haven't seen them yet."

"They came in about 20 minutes ago. You'll see them later. I want to show you something upstairs."

"Uh okay?" Rory looked at her mother questioning.

"We'll be right back." Lorelai said to Warren and Lane, then put her hand on her daughter's lower back and guided her towards the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Rory asked.

"My bedroom."

"Why?"

"You'll see." Lorelai opened the door and Rory looked around to see if there was something different. The place seemed exactly the same as the last time she was there, except from some clothes laying on the chairs.

"What are we doing here?"

"You're not very patient, are you."

"I got that from you I guess."

"Sit down."

Rory did as she was told and sat down on the bed.

Lorelai kneeled down next to the bed and pulled something from underneath there. She stood up and sat down next to Rory, handing it to her.

"What is this?" Rory looked at the small gift wrapped box in her hands.

"Open it." Lorelai smiled.

Rory carefully ripped the paper off and soon held a jewelry box in her hands. With shaking fingers she opened the box and inside she found a gold locket. She opened the locket and inside was a baby picture of herself. "Mom?" She looked at her mother, not understanding why she gave her this.

"This is your first birthday present."

"But I'm already 22?"

"I know that. You know how I feel guilty that I can give Lucan and these two babies in here more than I could ever give you."

"And I told you so many times that you don't have to worry about that. Things change mom."

"I know. But I owed you this one."

"I don't remember what you gave me for my first birthday, but I'm sure you gave me something."

"I gave you a stuffed animal I made myself. You cold him Olly when you got older. And some clothes I made you myself as well."

"Then I don't understand."

When my mother turned one, she got a locket from her mother, with a picture of herself and her name and address. Then when I turned one I got one from my mother, with the same things inside. You know you have those identification necklaces now? My grandmother was inventive in her own way." Lorelai stood up and opened her jewelry box, taking out the locket she got from her mother a long time ago. It was white gold and the locket was very small so it wouldn't look weird on a one year old. The necklace itself was replaced within the years when Lorelai got older and bigger. "I've always loved this necklace. It's the best present I ever got from my mother and when I was little I promised myself I would give my daughter a locket for her first birthday, to continue the tradition. But there was no way I could have afforded it at the time, or even the few years following and at some point I just forgot about it, until this week. I went through my jewelry box and saw this locket and since it's your brother's first birthday day, I started thinking what I forgot to give you all those years."

"It's beautiful." Rory handed the necklace to her mother. "Can you help me put it on?"

"I'd be honored."

Rory turned around and lifted her hair so her mother could close the lock behind her neck. Then she stood up and walked towards the mirror to look at herself. "It's really beautiful mom. I really really like it. Thank you." She turned around and walked to her mother, giving her a big hug. "You're amazing."

"No, you're amazing."

"Just promise me one thing." Rory said, once she pulled back from the hug.

"Sure."

"This is the last thing you did, trying to make up for the past because there's no reason to. Okay?"

"I promise."

"Good." She hugged her mother once more. "Can I see yours?"

"Sure." Lorelai handed her the locket.

Rory opened it carefully. Inside was a baby picture as well. "I thought you had no baby pictures of yourself left?"

"This is the only one."

"You were not ugly as a baby mom. You're head was not weird at all."

"This picture is very very small so you can't judge. But thank you. I appreciate that. Now let's go back downstairs before they start to wonder where we disappeared to."

"Let's do that."

Together they walked downstairs and Lorelai smiled at Luke, letting him know Rory was happy with the gift. She told him the story and it was him who suggested that she bought Rory the locket now. She watched how Rory walked towards her grandmother.

"Grandma look."

"Hello Rory." Emily turned around. "What is it?"

"Look what I got from my mom. A late first birthday gift."

Emily looked at the necklace hanging around her granddaughter's neck and knew why Lorelai had given her this. "It's beautiful." Over Rory's shoulders she gave a smile to Lorelai, letting her know how much it meant to her that Lorelai continued this tradition.

-xxxxxx-

"That was a long day." Lorelai snuggled close to Luke, resting her head on his shoulder.

He put an arm around her and kissed her forehead. "Yes it was. But the party was a huge success. I have to admit that Lucan even liked all the attention."

"I told you he would. But you were all skeptic, not trusting me."

"I always trust you Lorelai. If I didn't trust your opinion, I would have never allowed you to throw the party in the first place."

"Good to know. But tell me you did not thought I told you so when he was so shy right after he woke up."

"I won't because I can't. But I'm happy it turned out the way you expected it to."

"Me too. Do you think he'll remember this party when he's older?"

"No he won't. He's too small to have long term memories, but he'll have a lot of pictures to remember this party by and you can tell him the stories. I'm sure it will mean a lot to him when he's older."

"I hope so. It sure meant a lot to me."

"I know." He kissed her again.

"I can't believe how fast that year passed."

"I believe we discussed this already this morning."

"I know. I'm just still amazed by the fact that it felt like yesterday that they put him on my stomach the very first time. So slimy and red. And how we all held our breaths waiting for him to start crying."

"I remember."

"And in a few months, when these two get born he'll be a big brother. Today I realized how much he loves attention so I'm sure it won't be easy when he suddenly has to share all the attention with two little babies who will demand a lot of attention at first."

"He's still young. He'll get used to it. I'm sure it will be hard in the beginning but I know he's going to love them and protect them when he's older."

"Like you protect Liz?"

"That's what you do for siblings right?"

"I don't know. I never had any, although I always wanted to have one. I'm glad Rory didn't stay my only kid. I know there's a huge age difference between her and Lucan and the twins, but I like to believe that when they get older, she's going to need them as much as they need her."

"They will. They'll all love each other and they will be there for each other long after we're gone."

Lorelai looked up at him and smiled. "What is it with you and wanting us to die. This is the second time in a few weeks you mention it."

"I…."

"I know what you meant and I know that you want us to live a long live and that you want our kids to live even longer and I like that thought as much as you do."

"Good. Now let's get some sleep. Lucan will wake us up very early tomorrow morning, demanding attention after all the attention he got today."

"I'm sure he will."

And with that they went to sleep.

T.B.C.


	15. Missing

_A/N: When I started writing this chapter, I ended up somewhere completely different than where I intended to go in the first place. But I really like how it turned out. All I'm going to say is look out for some drama, and probably not in a way you think at this moment :D I hope you'll all enjoy it and I really want to hear your feedback!_

**Chapter 15 Missing **

"Hey Tom." Luke greeted his contractor.

"Morning Luke. Where do you want us to start?"

"How about we start with a cup of coffee and I'll show you around after that so you know what I want done where? I think it's best for you to decide where you want to start. Everywhere is fine with me. It's just that Lorelai's still asleep and I'd like her to have at least 15 more minutes."

"That's okay. Coffee sounds good."

"Follow me into the kitchen." Both man walked into the kitchen where Luke started a pot of coffee and boiled some water for tea. Then he walked into the living room to get the sketches. He put them on the table and sat down next to Tom. "This is the plan."

"Some big changes. We need a foundation and than we have to add. We can keep the walls down here but we have to take away the one on the top floor. The wall carries the roof so we have to be really careful. But don't worry, everything is going to be alright. It will take a few weeks and I advice you once again to find another place to sleep for a few weeks."

"I'll discuss it with Lorelai again. She thinks it's okay if we move into Rory's room, but when you start working early in the morning, it will only be a few days before she changed her mind."

"Okay."

Luke stood up and filled a cup with coffee and a mug with tea for himself, then he sat back down. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Not at this point, really. I have my men so it's best when you stay away, and even better, keep Lorelai and that son of yours away from here. This won't be a good place for them to be around. Especially for the boy."

"I know. I'll make sure it happens."

"Good. We'll start outside. My men will be here in about 15 minutes with all the equipment. I just wanted to see for myself that you were ready before we started."

"We're ready when you are. I'll go see if Lorelai's awake. If you need anything just call me."

"I will."

Luke walked upstairs into their bedroom. Lorelai was still asleep. He sat down on the bed next to her. "Lorelai." He whispered.

No response.

"Lorelai." A little louder this time. He placed a kiss on her lips. "Wake up."

"Ughhh…. it's too early." She kept her eyes closed.

"Tom's here. You better wake up now otherwise you'll wake up from his machines 10 minutes from now. And you won't like it."

"Why do they have to start in the middle of the night."

"If we were in the diner right now you wouldn't have had this problem."

"Not nice to throw that in my face." She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"You know it's true. I've told you at least 10 times already that it's better to move into my old apartment for a few weeks. This is no good place to be the next few weeks. Besides waking you up early, there will be a lot of mess and it's not good for Lucan to be here. There will be dust, there will be small parts on the floor everywhere which he can put in his mouth. And you know I can go on for a while."

"But…." They heard a few trucks pull up on their driveways and the doors opened a few seconds later. Soon voices were heard. "Ugh…" She took Luke's pillow and put it on top of her face.

"This is only the beginning. There will be a lot more noise after this. Come on, get up, take a shower then I'll start packing."

"Fine." She threw Luke's pillow away. "But I don't like it."

"Just think about what it will be like when it's finished. Then we never have to leave this house again if we don't want to. It's only for a few weeks."

"I know."

"Think of it like vacation."

She smiled. "Nice vacation when I still have to work."

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Tell that to Michel." She kissed his lips before getting out of bed to take a shower.

Luke watched Lorelai walk away with a smile, then walked into Lucan's room to get the boy out of bed. He was already sitting up, playing with one of his stuffed animals. "Dada." The little boy looked at his father and pulled himself into standing position.

"Hey buddy." Luke walked towards his son and picked him up. "How about a shower?" He walked towards the changing table and put his son down. He undressed him and took him in his arms again, walking into the bathroom. He heard Lorelai singing in the shower and was glad she was in a good mood. He opened the shower curtain and Lorelai shrieked.

"What are you doing?"

"Your son wants a shower too." He handed her Lucan.

"Why can't he wait 10 minutes until I'm finished?" She protested, but took her son in her arms anyway. "Good morning little boy."

"This is so much easier. If you wash his body and his hair I'll take him from you again."

"Yeah yeah. Just close the curtain because the floor is getting soaked."

Luke did what he was told.

Lorelai sat Lucan down on the floor of the bathtub as she took the baby shampoo bottle in her hands. She let some shampoo drop in her hand and kneeled down next to her son. "Close your eyes sweetie." She pulled her hand through his short hair, making sure the shampoo got everywhere. She put her other hand in front of his eyes and when she was finished, she lifted him up in her arms again and stepped under the shower head, making sure his head was backwards a little so he wouldn't get any shampoo in his eyes. When she was done with his hair she opened another bottle and washed Lucan's stomach and his back. "All finished." She kissed his cheek and opened the shower curtain. "Go to your daddy."

When the cold air hit his wet body, Lucan started crying. "Ma…ma…."

Luke put a towel around him and hold him close. "Come on, let's get you into your warm clothes. Mommy will be here soon okay." Then to Lorelai he said. "Don't be in there too long. I don't know if Tom has to take off the water."

"5 minutes."

"No more."

"I promise."

Luke smiled, knowing it would take at least 10 minutes before she would get out of the shower. He lifted Lucan a little higher. "Come on, let's get you in some clothes."

-xxxxxx-

"Hey Sookie." Lorelai walked into the Dragonfly's kitchen almost an hour later, with Lucan in her arms.

"Hey sweetie. You're early."

"I know. They started working on the house today so Luke woke me up early. We'll be staying at the diner the next few weeks though, so it won't happen again."

"How far are they?"

"They just started. All I've seen is that they pulled tools and stuff out of the trucks."

"Where are they going to start?"

"Beats me. I'm sure they know what they're doing and Luke will be around to supervise and I'll stop by with coffee and lunches."

"And who's going to make that?"

"Well…" She gave Sookie a big smile.

"I'll fix something. You better see where Michel's up to. He's been in a bad mood this morning."

"Okay I will. I'll see you later hon." Lorelai walked away and into her office. She put Lucan into the playpen and put a car in his hands. "Mommy will go talk to Michel okay? You stay here and be a good boy." When she was sure Lucan was focused on his toys and she could leave him alone for a few minutes, Lorelai walked away, closing the door behind her. She found Michel behind the front desk. "Morning Michel."

Michel looked up and gave her a glance. "Hello Lorelai."

"No good morning?"

"Not today."

"What's wrong?"

"Paw paw has been sick since yesterday evening. I don't know what's wrong with him. I called the vet, but he has no time so I have to wait until tomorrow."

"Which vet did you call?"

"The one in Hartford of course."

"We have one here. Why don't you call him? From what I've heard he's good."

"Do you know the number?"

Lorelai grabbed the phone book from behind the front desk and started looking for the right number. "Here it is." She picked up the phone and dialed the number before handing the phone to Michel.

"Thanks."

"If he has time for you now, you can go and take the morning off."

Michel nodded and waited for the vet to pick up.

Lorelai knew he would come and tell her when he left so she walked back into her office. She was surprised to see the door open, because she never left the door open when Lucan was in there. She looked inside her office and was surprised to find the play pen empty. She turned around immediately, walking into the kitchen. "Sookie, what did I tell you about…." She stopped when she saw her friend busy with some bowl.

"What did you tell me about what?" Sookie looked up from her work.

"Where's Lucan?"

"I don't know. I thought he was with you?"

"He was into his playpen in my office. I went to talk to Michel for 5 minutes and when I came back, he was gone."

"Maybe Claire has him?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Lorelai walked away a little unsure. She had a strange feeling in her stomach. She almost ran to the front desk. "Michel, where's Claire?"

"I think upstairs. So you don't mind if I take the morning off? They said I can bring him in right away."

"Who?" Lorelai was confused, not knowing where he was talking about.

"Paw paw."

She shook her head. "Have you seen someone with Lucan while I was gone?"

"No. Now can I go?"

"In a minute Michel. My son is missing."

"He's a baby. How can you lose him?"

"I don't know. Someone took him from my office. Can you please help me look?"

"But I have to take Paw Paw to the doctor."

"Michel please." She begged him, while she had tears in her eyes.

"Okay." Lorelai walked into the dining room first, scanning the place for her son. The place was crowded, but Lucan wasn't there. She walked up the stairs where she found Michel talking to Claire in the hallway. "Have you seen him?"

"No, sorry."

"Damn it."

"We'll find him."

Lorelai nodded while tears streamed down her eyes. She saw how Michel and Claire knocked on every door, asking the people if they saw her son, while she stood frozen in the hallway for a few seconds. Then she started moving. She ran down the stairs again. She entered her office, hoping Lucan was in his playpen and it was all a mistake. Her heart broke when she found the playpen empty. It wasn't a mistake. It wasn't a bad dream, it was really happening. "Lucan where are you?" She waited for a response, but non came. She looked around her office, but there was nothing. Not even a note.

"Nobody has seen him." Claire entered the office.

"He can't be missing. He's just a year old. He can't walk away. He has to be here."

"We'll look outside. Maybe someone took him to the garden." Lorelai nodded and walked outside, not bothering to put her coat on. Claire followed her. "You go left, I'll go right."

Claire nodded.

"Lucan." Lorelai screamed her son's name. "Lucan where are you." She looked everywhere. Even inside the stables, but he was nowhere to be found. Halfway she ran into Claire. "Have you seen him." But she already knew the answer. She swallowed. "Who wants to take a baby? Who wants to take my baby Claire? Why would they do that?"

"I don't know. Let's go inside. Maybe Michel knows something."

Lorelai nodded and together they walked inside. "Michel?"

"I'm sorry." He shook his head. "Can I go now ?"

She nodded. "Thanks Michel."

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Thanks."

"I have to call Luke. I have to call my husband and tell him our son is missing. He's going to kill me. He'll say it's my fault."

"It's not your fault, and he'll know it. Do you want me to get Sookie?"

"I just want to be alone. Make sure you stay in the lobby and keep an eye on everybody who's coming in and going out."

She just nodded.

Lorelai walked into her office and her eyes filled with tears all over again when she saw the empty playpen. She sat down at her desk and stared at one of the pictures of Lucan. She put her fingers on the glass. "Where are you?" She had to swallow away the lump in her throat before she picked up the phone. She dialed the number she had dialed so many times before.

"Luke's."

"Luke it's me."

"Lorelai? What's wrong?" He sensed the panic in her voice.

She had to swallow again, unable to speak at the moment.

"Lorelai what's going on?" He was instantly worried. "Talk to me."

She sniffled. "Luke…" She couldn't get the words out. She turned around when the door to her office opened and saw Sookie standing in the door opening.

"Lorelai!"

Sookie shook her head, knowing what Lorelai was thinking. Then she walked towards her and took the phone out of her hands. "Luke?"

"Sookie? What's going on?"

"Lucan's missing."

"What?"

"Lorelai left her office for 5 minutes to talk to Michel at the front desk. When she came back the playpen was empty."

Luke was confused. "How?"

"I don't know Luke. You should come over here."

"I'll be right there." With that Luke hang up.

Sookie put the phone down and looked at her friend. Tears were running silently down her cheeks. "It's going to be okay. We're going to find him. I promise."

Lorelai nodded. "He'll hate me."

"He won't remember. I promise he won't remember. He's too small."

"I mean Luke. All I had to do was take care of our son. And I just lost him. He can't even walk yet so how can I lose him?"

"We'll figure it out sweetie. I promise." Sookie pulled her friend in a hug. "We'll find him."

Lorelai was still crying into Sookie's arms when Luke ran into her office a few minutes later. Lorelai pulled away from Sookie and dropped herself in Luke's arms. "I'm so sorry Luke. I left him alone for 5 minutes. I do it all the time. He was playing with his yellow car and he was fine. When I came back he was gone. Nobody has seen him. How is that possible? I.. I…"

"We're going to find him Lorelai. I promise we'll find him." He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Did you call the police?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Let's do that first."

Lorelai nodded as she loosened the grip she had on Luke. She watched how he dialed 911 and asked for the police. "Hello, my name is Luke Danes. My son is missing."

"How long has he been missing sir?"

"I don't know. About half an hour I think. But he's only a year old. He was with my wife in her office and she left him alone for 5 minutes and when she came back he was gone. He can't walk so someone must have taken him. We asked everybody but nobody has seen him."

"What's the address sir?"

"The Dragonfly inn in Stars Hallow. The address is Sores and Boils Alley."

"We'll send someone right away sir."

"Thank you."

"And?" Lorelai looked at him, her eyes begging.

"They'll send someone."

She nodded. "I'm so sorry Luke. I shouldn't have left him. It's all my fault."

"It's not your fault Lorelai."

"I left him alone, didn't I?"

"I leave him alone sometimes too. Then I go to the kitchen or into the storage room."

"But there's always someone to watch him. You don't work in the diner alone."

"And you don't work alone in here. Don't blame yourself okay. We won't get him back with that."

She nodded. Then her lip started quivering and Luke opened his arms again.

They didn't know how long it took before they heard a knock on the door. "Come in." Lorelai pulled away from Luke.

Claire opened the door. "The police are here."

Lorelai nodded as two police officers walked into her office.

"Hello, I'm officer Lorraine Sullivan and this is my partner Joel Davis."

"Lorelai Danes, and this is my husband Luke."

"Let's sit down, then you can tell me what happened." They all took a seat. "Now, let's start at the beginning. Was everything normal when you walked in here this morning?"

Lorelai nodded. "I went into my office to hang up my and Lucan's coat. Then I walked into the kitchen to let Sookie know I'm here. We talked for a few minutes and she said Michel was cranky so I brought Lucan into my office and went to talk to her."

"Sookie works in the kitchen?" Lorraine asked the questions while Joel took notes.

"She's the chef. We own this place together."

"Okay, so after you left the kitchen you came in here. Anything weird?"

"No. Nobody was here. I put Lucan in the playpen, handed him his yellow car because that's one of his favorite toys. When I was sure he would enjoy himself for a few minutes I went to talk to Michel."

"Where was that?"

"At the front desk."

"Okay. Where did you talk about?"

"About his dog. The dog was sick and Michel loves his dogs like they're his kids so he was worried. His vet couldn't take him in, so I gave him the number of the vet here in Stars Hallow. Then I went into my office and found Lucan gone."

"How long have you been gone."

She shook her head. "5 minutes most."

"You haven't seen anybody while you were talking to Michel? Nobody came in our out?"

"No."

"You're positive."

"Yes." She got frustrated. "Why all these questions. My son is missing and I heard somewhere that the long it takes, the lower the chances are that you're going to find him."

"Ma'am. We have to ask these questions so we're sure what happened. We need that information to find your son."

She nodded.

"You came into your office and you're son wasn't in the playpen. What did you do then?"

"I ran into the kitchen to yell at Sookie. She sometimes takes him out of the playpen without mentioning it to me. But she was working and hadn't seen him."

"What happened after that?"

"I went back to Michel and had him help me seek. I looked in the dining room and in went upstairs where Michel was talking to Claire. She hadn't seen him either. They knocked on every door and asked everybody if they'd seen Lucan, when I went back downstairs to see if he was there. After that we went outside and looked there, but we couldn't find him."

"What did you do then?"

"I went back inside and called Luke. And he called you when he came here."

"Okay. How old is your son?"

"He turned one a few weeks ago."

"Is there any way he could have gotten out of the playpen himself?"

"No. He can't walk yet. Only in the playpen when he holds himself, or around the table, but he can't walk loose. And he definitely can't climb so there's no way he got out of the playpen by himself."

"Do you have a recent picture of him?"

Lorelai handed the officer one of the pictures that was standing on her desk. "This is one from his birthday."

"Ok. Do you have any idea who took him?"

"No. He wouldn't be missing if I knew because I would have gone there and picked up my son myself."

Luke took Lorelai's hand in his and squeezed it. "We live in a crazy town. But I don't think anyone would take away our son without telling Lorelai."

"Do you have enemies?"

They both shook their head. "No."

"Do you have more kids?"

"I have a daughter. Rory."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yale."

Lorraine looked at Lorelai confused.

"She's 22."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"That's okay."

"When is the last time you talked to your daughter?"

"Why, do you think the person who took our son could be after my daughter as well?"

"We don't know. Let's not assume that, but it's good to have your daughter informed."

Lorelai nodded.

"When you call your daughter, we'll ask your husband a few more questions, okay?"

Lorelai nodded again. "I'll step outside for a while." She took her cell phone out of her purse and hit speed dial number one.

"Hello?"

"Rory it's me."

"Mom?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm on my way to the library. What's up?"

"You're brother's missing."

"What?"

"Someone took him from the playpen in my office when I was talking to Michel for a few minutes."

"I'll be there in half an hour."

"Rory that's okay. I just… the police said you have to be careful."

"Mom, I'm coming home. I'll call Warren and have him stay with me for a while, but I'm not staying here knowing that Lucan is missing. Understand?"

"Okay. Just be careful okay? Take it easy."

"I will. And mom?"

"Yeah?"

"They'll find him. I promise."

"Thanks." Lorelai hung up and walked back into her office. "She's fine and coming here. She'll make sure Warren stays with her all the time."

"We ordered backup. We will spread around his picture so every police car in the area knows to look out for him. We'll have officers on the street to look for him. I want you and your husband to stay here in case someone contacts you. Alright?"

"We can't just sit and wait here while our son is missing." Luke shot up from his chair.

"We understand that sir, but it's the best thing to do. We'll have a lot of people on the street looking for your son but someone has to stay here."

"What if I stay here and Luke helps you search for him? It won't hurt to have an extra person looking for him right?" Lorelai looked at the police officers in front of her, her eyes begging.

"Okay. As long as you stay here."

"I will."

"We're going to talk to all the quests. Our colleagues will be here soon to pick up the picture."

The police officers walked outside and Lorelai turned to Luke. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't say it okay. We're going to find him. I'll leave now." He placed a kiss on the top of Lorelai's head.

"Do you have your cell phone?"

"I do. I'll call you when I know something, you do the same."

She nodded. When he wanted to walk away she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her. She kissed his lips and then she let him go.

-xxxxxx-  
"Lorelai?"

Lorelai looked up when and saw how her mother entered the inn. She was standing behind the front desk so she could keep an eye on everybody coming in and going out. "Mom?"

"Rory called me and said that Lucan's missing?"

Lorelai nodded and before she realized it, tears were rolling down her cheeks again. "It's all my fault mom."

Emily walked towards her daughter and pulled her into a hug. "It's not your fault Lorelai. Don't say that. They're going to find him. Before you know it you'll have him in your arms again. I promise."

Lorelai nodded, wanting nothing more than to believe her mother. "I'm scared mom."

"I know you are. But they're going to find him. You're father's is helping Luke search."

"Thank you for coming mom. It means a lot to me."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Lorelai gave her mother a slight smile. "I just don't understand mom. Why would anyone take my son? I don't understand. He's so small. He can't even walk yet mom."

"I know Lorelai. I know." She held her daughter tight, hoping they would find her grandson soon. She hated to see her daughter like this.

"This morning they started working on the house. I was complaining when Luke woke me up a little early so I wouldn't wake up from the machines later. And I complained again when he said it's better for us to stay at the diner the next few weeks, until they're finished with the house. It seems so stupid now."

"I know it does." Emily let her daughter cry into her arms for a while.

When Lorelai managed to get control of herself, she slowly pulled away from her mother. "Thanks mom."

Emily just nodded.

Rory walked in a few minutes after that, with Warren a few steps behind. "Mom."

Lorelai pulled her daughter into a hug.

"Did you hear something yet?"

"Nothing." Lorelai had to swallow again.

"They'll find him. I promise."

Lorelai nodded, not knowing if she still believed it, but knowing she had to think positive.

"Where's Luke?"

"He's helping the police search. As is grandpa."

"Can I go to?"

Lorelai nodded. "Make sure you and Warren stay together okay?"

"We will. I'll call you when I hear something."

-xxxxxx-

It seemed like hours. Lorelai waited together with her mother. First they had no idea what to say, then they started talking. They talked about everything. About how Lucan is walking around the table but won't even take a few steps when you're just holding his hands. About Rory and Warren and how they're doing right now. About the house. About Luke. About Richard and his new project at work. And every time someone walked in they fell silent, staring at the door, hoping to see Lucan. But they were disappointed over and over again. Every time the phone rang they were hoping for information. But they were disappointed over and over again.

Then two people Lorelai hadn't seen before walked into the lobby. She tried to get herself together and to be polite. "Good afternoon. Can I help you?"

"Have you seen our daughter?"

"I don't know. What does she look like?" A weird feeling entered her stomach again. Now not only her son was missing, but these people had lost their daughter as well.

"She's 12 years old and has down syndrome. She has dark blond hair and is about this tall." The man indicated with his hand how big his daughter was. "Her name is Tess."

"I'm sorry." Lorelai swallowed as tears appeared in her eyes.

The man looked at Lorelai confused and Emily noticed this so she took a step forward. "My name is Emily Gilmore and this is my daughter Lorelai. Her son has been missing since this morning. There might be a connection…"

The man turned pale. "How old is he?"

"Lucan turned one a few weeks ago." Emily answered for Lorelai, who was still too shocked to speak.

"There's a change our daughter took your son. Tess really likes small children. We left her here this morning because she was still asleep. I'm really sorry."

Lorelai felt anger rise within her. Who were these people, leaving their 12 year old daughter alone in the inn?

"We arrived her very late yesterday evening. We wanted to walk through town but Tess was still asleep this morning. She was exhausted from the trip. We informed your manager that she was still here. He said it was no problem."

"Michel." Lorelai hissed, shaking her head. "Do you have any idea where your daughter could have taken my son?"

"Probably somewhere outside in the forest. She loves nature and walking. Let's go look for them."

Lorelai nodded. "Mom, you have to stay here in case they come back. And call Luke and Rory and the police and tell them what you just heard. I'm going with them."

"Of course."

Lorelai wanted to ran outside when Emily stopped her.

"Lorelai wait."

"What?" She turned around frustrated.

"Put on a coat. It's cold outside and I don't want you to get sick."

Lorelai nodded and walked into her office to get her coat. This is the first time she noticed Lucan's coat was gone. She sighed in relieve, happy that the girl was smart enough to think of that, but wondering how a 12 year old girl with down syndrome managed to sneak out a baby within 5 minutes without anyone noticing. She ran back into the lobby where the parents of the girl were still waiting. They walked outside. "Let's all take a side so we can be faster."

"Sounds like a plan. What's your son's name?"

"Lucan."

"Okay. Let's go."

Lorelai started running, yelling. "Tess… Lucan." She walked into the woods, screaming the two names over and over again. Between the yelling she was silent for a few seconds waiting for a response. After 10 minutes she heard someone yell back.

"Yes?"

"Tess where are you?"

"Here." The girl yelled back.

"Can you come to me please?"

"No."

"Come on, I'm not mad at you. Please I just want my son back." Lorelai started walking in the direction of the girl's voice. "Tess where are you?"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." The girl started crying, knowing she did something wrong.

Lorelai ran the last few steps and found the girl sitting on the floor, Lucan in her arms. The boy looked up when he saw his mother. "Mamma." He started smiling and put his arms in the air.

Lorelai kneeled down next to her son and took him in her arms. She started crying as she hugged her son tight against her.

"I'm sorry. I'm soo sorry." Tess was still crying.

Lorelai looked up at the young girl. She wiped away her tears. "It's okay. Just don't ever do this again okay? You really scared me. I want to make a phone call and then we're getting out of here." With Lucan still in her arms she took her cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed Luke's cell number. He answered almost immediately.

"Lorelai?"

"I found him. He's ok."

"You found him?" His voice was thick with emotion.

"Yes I found him. He's fine. The twelve year old daughter of one of my guests took him."

"Wouldn't a twelve year old know not to do that?"

"She has down syndrome. Meet me at the inn okay? I'm going there right now."

"I'll be right there."

Lorelai put her phone back into her pocket, then stood up. She took Tess' hand in hers while she supported Lucan with her other. "Come on, let's go find your mommy and daddy."

When they arrived back at the Dragonfly the girls parents were standing at the entrance. As were Luke, Rory, Warren, Sookie and her parents. As soon as Luke saw Lorelai he ran towards her, gathering her in her arms, with Lucan in between. Tess' parents ran to her and took their daughter in their arms.

"I'm so glad he's okay."

Lorelai could hear the emotion in Luke's voice and pulled away a little so she could see in his eyes. They were filled with tears. She smiled a little as she handed Lucan to him, then wiped his tears away. "Me too." She kissed his lips and then kissed Lucan on the top of his head. "I was so scared."

"I know me too. But he's okay."

She nodded and kissed Lucan again. Then she turned to Tess' parents. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Just a little worried that we're mad at her."

Lorelai nodded.

Lorraine Sullivan walked towards Luke and Lorelai. "Is everything okay?"

Lorelai nodded again. "He's fine."

"Do you want to file a complain against Tess and her parents?"

She looked at Luke, already knowing how she felt. He nodded to let her know he felt the same. "That's not necessary. I just want them to make sure something like this never happens again. They can't leave their daughter alone."

"Thank you." Tess' father looked grateful. "We'll make sure it never happens again. And if there's anything I can do."

"I don't think so. Just keep your daughter close and try to let her know that she can't take kids without telling someone."

"Of course."

"Come on. Let's all go inside and get something to drink and I'm sure we can get Sookie to make us something to eat." Lorelai put her arm around Luke, pulling him close and kissed Lucan once again. She was so happy he was okay and knew that she would never leave him alone again.

T.B.C.


	16. The aftermath

_A/N: I owe all of you a big apology. I'm so sorry I haven't updated earlier. But first I was a little uninspired and then a few things came up so I wasn't able to write. But here's a new chapter, finally. I hope you all like it!_

**Chapter 16 The aftermath **

Lorelai opened her eyes. She looked at the alarm and was surprised to see it was already 8 o clock. 'Why didn't Lucan wake me up?' She almost jumped out of bed to see if her son was awake. When she opened the door to his room and found his bed empty she gasped, panic taking away her common sense. She ran down the stairs, calling her sons name. "Lucan." There was no-one downstairs. She checked the living room and then the kitchen. She even checked Rory's room. She walked back upstairs into Lucan's room, hoping it was all a dream. She walked to his crib and looked inside. There was a note. '_We took your son. We'll contact you in a few hours so stay near the phone.'_ All Lorelai could do was scream.

"Lorelai." Luke looked at his wife, shaking her arm. "Lorelai wake up."

Lorelai opened her eyes and sat up straight immediately. She turned around to look at Luke, when tears started streaming down her face.

"It was just a bad dream." Luke opened his arms and she leaned into him.

"It felt so real."

"You want to tell me about it?"

"It's the same as it was yesterday, and the day before that."

"Lucan's fine. He's asleep over there." He made her turn around so she could see him asleep in his bed. That's when she realized she wasn't in her own house, but that they were in Luke's old apartment.

"I want it to stop." She felt exhausted and knew she couldn't take much more. She was afraid to leave Lucan alone during the day. She made sure he was in her sight every second and wouldn't let Luke take him. She could handle working and looking after her son all day long, but not with not sleeping during the night.

"It will be better. He's fine and we'll make sure nothing happens to him. I promise you that. Why don't you take tomorrow off? I'll take care of him so you can get some sleep."

"No, I want him with me."

"But I promise I'll look after him. I'm even willing to take the day off as well. I'll just take him somewhere so you can have the apartment to yourself."

"That's not necessary, I'll take him. But I think it's a good idea to take the day off. I'll call Sookie in the morning."

"How about I do that so you can sleep in? I'll take care of Lucan until you wake up."

She looked at him, knowing he was right. She had to trust Luke. He was Lucan's father, and the father of the two kids who were safe inside her. She had to trust him with them. "If I don't wake up when you do tomorrow, that would be nice."

"Let's go back to sleep okay?"

She nodded. "Can you please hold me?"

"Of course."

Lorelai turned on her side, and Luke did the same, pulling her into his chest, his arms tight around her.

-xxxxxx-

When Lorelai opened her eyes the following morning, it took her a few seconds to figure out where she was. She sat up in bed and stared at Lucan's crib. He wasn't there. She figured Luke had taken him downstairs. She wanted to know if he was okay, but going downstairs wearing only one of Luke's flannel shirts didn't really work out the first time she tried. She decided to call downstairs instead.

"Luke's."

"Hey it's me."

"Hey." His voice softened. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, although the bed felt kind of cold the last few hours. I missed you."

"I'm sorry. But why are you calling?"

"I wanted to check if Lucan's okay and didn't feel like walking downstairs wearing only your flannel shirt, thinking about what happened last time I did that."

A small smile appeared on Luke's face, remembering that moment. Too bad he was never able to see the look on her face when she realized the diner was filled with people. "He's fine, woke up around 7, I dressed him and gave him breakfast. He's walking around in his playpen now."

"Good."

"How about you take a shower and then I'll make you breakfast?"

"Sounds good."

"What would you like?"

"The usual?"

"Sure. Half an hour?"

"You're an angel."

"No I'm not."

She smiled at the grumpiness in his voice. "Yes you are, but I know you would never admit it so never mind. I'll take that shower now. By the way, did you call Sookie?"

"Yes I did. She said it was fine and she'll see you tomorrow. Go take that shower now. I'll see you in half an hour."

"Ok." Lorelai hung up the phone and got out of bed. She walked towards the closet and opened it. Since she didn't have to go to work she decided on a comfy pair of jeans and a sweater. Taking the clothes she walked into the bathroom, undressed and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water take away the pressure on her shoulders.

When Luke heard the shower stop upstairs, he made Lorelai's breakfast. He knew she would need at least 10 more minutes, so he had enough time. He and Lucan brought everything upstairs and set up the table. Luke put Lucan on the floor while he sat down at the kitchen table. Lorelai came out a minute later, surprised to see Luke upstairs. "What are you doing here?"

"It was quiet downstairs so I figured it would be nice to eat here together."

"You didn't have breakfast yet?"

"I did, but I can at least keep you company while you eat."

She smiled. "I like that." Walking towards the table she sat down across from Luke, but not before giving him a small peck on his lips. "Thank you."

He just nodded.

She ate in silence for a few minutes, then she felt someone tug on her leg. She smiled and looked down at her son, who pulled himself into a standing position. "Mama." She lifted him up and put him in her lap. "Hey sweetie. How are you feeling this morning? Did you have fun with daddy?"

The boy smiled as he moved his small hands towards Lorelai's plate. She was just in time to grab his hands before he reached it.

"That's mommy's. Your daddy already gave you breakfast this morning."

He looked at his mother with a pout.

Lorelai smiled. "You're so my son." She took a small piece of her pancake and put it in Lucan's hand. "Here, take this."

Lucan started chewing happily.

Luke shook his head. "I can't believe he's already starting to do that."

"I know. Even Rory was at least half a year before she got the pout. I'm so proud of him."

"It's obvious he's been spending too much time with you lately. Are you sure you don't want to leave him with me today?"

"Positive."

Luke tried to hide his disappointment. He understood Lorelai didn't want to leave Lucan out of his sight, but he was his father. She should be able to trust him. He knew that he had done a lot to take away her trust when they first found out about the twins, but he thought that was behind them now.

Lorelai looked at her husband and noticed his disappointment. "This is not about you Luke. I trust you with our son. I just want him with me 24 hours a day."

He shook his head. "That's not possible Lorelai. I know you're terrified that something might happen to him, but he's okay."

"But what if it happens again? It might not end so well next time?"

"We live in Stars Hallow. What can happen?"

"We were in Stars Hallow when it happened Luke. So it may be one of the safest towns of the country, but obviously bad things can still happen. And if it can happen once, it can happen again."

"That's not very likely."

"But you can't give me a hundred percent guarantee that it won't happen again, can you?"

He sighed defeated. "No I can't."

"Exactly. And that's why I need him to be with me for now. I'm sorry."

"But it happened while he was with you Lorelai." He regretted the words once they came out of his mouth, but it was already to late.

She looked at him in shock and only needed 5 seconds to regain herself. She stood up with Lucan still in her arms and walked away without saying another word.

"Lorelai." Luke stood up as well and followed her down the stairs. "Lorelai I'm sorry."

She didn't turn around when she heard him yelling her name. She walked outside towards her car and had to struggle to put Lucan in his car seat because he was crying furiously.

It didn't wasn't long before he caught up with her. "Lorelai I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

She wasn't looking at him as she finally managed to get Lucan strapped in his car seat and closed the door. Luke grabbed her arm when she wanted to get in the car herself. "Let go of me."

"I want to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to you. Leave me alone."

"Lorelai." He loosened the grip on her arm. "Please don't go like this. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it. I didn't mean it."

"Yes you did Luke. It's all my fault. I can't take care of our son." She shook her head and opened the door of the car and got in. "I'll see you later." She started the car and drove away.

Lucan was still crying. He didn't understand why his parents were screaming at each other. He didn't understand what he did wrong.

Lorelai turned around to look at her son. "I'm sorry sweetie. Everything's okay."

It took Lucan 10 minutes to calm down. By the time he was exhausted and fell asleep. Lorelai felt bad, knowing she caused this. Maybe Luke was right. Maybe she shouldn't trust herself with him. She drove around aimlessly for 30 minutes before she drove towards her parent's house. She parked her car on the driveway and took Lucan out of the car seat. He was so exhausted that didn't even wake him up.

Lorelai rang the doorbell and waited until someone opened. "Lorelai, what are you doing here?" Emily opened the door herself, surprised to find her daughter on the other side.

"Hey mom."

Emily noticed the distracted, exhausted look on her daughter's face. "Come in."

"Thanks." Lorelai gave her mother a slight smile.

They walked into the living room. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No thanks." Lorelai sat down on the couch with Lucan still in her arms.

"Why don't you put him upstairs?"

"No that's okay. I'm afraid he'll wake up without knowing where he is."

"He's been here before." But from the look on Lorelai's face, Emily knew not to push it further. "You can put him on the couch next to you. I can get him a blanket if you like?"

"No that's okay. He's fine." Lorelai put him down next to her and watched him for a few minutes.

Emily watched her daughter, knowing something was bothering her. "Lorelai what's wrong?"

"Can't I pay you a visit on my day off?"

"I remember you saying you had to work all week?"

"That changed when I decided to take a day off. What's the big deal?"

"Something's bothering you. You're acting petulant."

"Whatever mom."

"I'm your mother Lorelai. You can tell me what's bothering you. Is this about last week?"

"When last week mom?"

"You know exactly when I'm talking about. It wasn't your fault and it doesn't matter now because he's okay."

"Tell that to Luke."

"What?" Emily looked confused.

"Tell Luke that it was not my fault."

"I don't believe that Luke thinks it's your fault Lorelai."

"He said it himself mom."

"If he did I'm sure he didn't mean it, and I'm sure you said a lot of other things before that."

"Then why don't you go and band together with him?"

"Tell me what happened."

"We had a fight okay?"

"Because you won't let him take care of Lucan?"

Lorelai looked up and stared her mother in the eyes.

"You're my daughter Lorelai and I know you." Emily smiled. "I understand you want to keep your eyes on Lucan the whole day to make sure that he's okay, but he's his father."

"I know that. I just need some time and he doesn't understand that."

"He does, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt him that he's not allowed to take care of his own son. He thinks you don't trust him."

"I do trust him."

"I know that you do. You've been through a lot the past few weeks and it wasn't very long ago when you did not know how to trust Luke. He feels that hasn't changed."

Lorelai shook her head. "That's not true."

"I know that, and he knows that too. But he just feels like you don't trust him because of Lucan."

"That's stupid. He's the only person I trust with Lucan besides myself and Rory."

"But you have to tell him that. You have to explain to him how you feel. He's a man and they don't always know what's going on in our heads."

Lorelai smiled. "Luke usually does."

"But not all the time. That's impossible."

"He'd go crazy if he knew what is going on in my mind all day long."

They both smiled. "Go home and talk to him Lorelai."

Lorelai nodded. "I will. Thanks mom."

"Why don't you leave Lucan here with me so you two can talk quietly?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Mom…"

"I promise I will take good care of him."

"I know you would. But remember why I'm here in the first place? I won't even let Luke take care of him. I'm sorry."

Emily nodded. "I understand. It will get better after a while."

Lorelai closed her eyes for a few seconds. "I hope it will."

"I lost you once. We were in the park. You were two years old and you already knew exactly what you wanted. I kept my eyes on you but then someone stopped me and for 5 seconds I looked away and when I brought my eyes back to where you were, you were gone. I panicked, started screaming your name. I was running around looking for you. You were only 2 years old so I couldn't imagine you would have gone far. The park police came to help and it took half an hour before we found you. You were sleeping behind a large tree on the side of the park. I've never been so scared in my life. After that I wouldn't leave you alone. Your father wasn't much like Luke. He was always working and even though he loved spending some time with you after he came home, he never watched you. But there were maids and when we had to go to some stupid function, your father didn't understand why I didn't want to come because I had to leave you at home."

"How long did it take before that changed?"

"A few weeks. Then I started to realize that I had to leave you alone sometimes, and to trust others to take good care of you, and they did."

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks mom. I think I'm going home to talk to Luke now. He must be worried. I was very aggravated when I left."

"Thanks for coming here Lorelai."

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks for listening to me."

"Anytime."

Lorelai picked up Lucan and carried him to the car. He stirred when she buckled him in his car seat but remained sleeping.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai took Lucan out of his car seat. The boy woke up when the car stopped and was silently crying, still upset about the way he fell asleep. "I'm sorry sweetie." Lorelai hugged her son and tried to sooth him. She walked into the diner and Luke remained behind the counter, trying to find out what kind of mood she was in. "Hey."

"Hey." He turned around and filled a cup with tea, placing it on the counter.

"Do you think we can go upstairs to talk?"

He nodded. "Caesar, I'm taking a break."

"Ok."

"Come on." He took the cup from the counter and walked towards the stairs, with Lorelai following close. Upstairs he put the cup on the kitchen table. "Do you want to sit here?"

"Yeah that's fine." She took a few steps towards him. "Can you take Lucan?"

He nodded and took his son, who was still fussing, in his arms. "Hey buddy what's that? Are you sleepy?"

"He just woke up but he's still upset from before he fell asleep."

Luke nodded and sat down on one of the chairs, rocking Lucan back and forward in his lap.

"Luke I'm sorry."

He looked at her. "Me too. I…"

She lifted her right hand in the air, indicating that she wanted to go first. "May I?"

"Sure."

"When I walked into my office that day, and the play pen was empty…. I've never been so scared in my life. You remember when Rory and Jess got in that car accident?"

"Of course I remember." He didn't understand where she was going with this, but knew better than to interrupt her.

"When Rory called me that evening and told me that she was in the hospital… I was so scared, but as scary as that was, it wasn't close to this. At least then I knew where my kid was. When I found Lucan gone, I had no idea where he was. There was no sign of him, there wasn't even a note… I know that it was an accident and that I'm not to blame. That no-one really is to blame and if anyone is it would be Tess's parents because they didn't keep an eye on their daughter. They should have known better. But inside me…" She placed a hand on her chest. "It was my fault Luke. I'm his mother and I have to make sure nothing ever happens to him. That's my job and I failed miserable."

"It's not your fault Lorelai. Don't get yourself so worked up over this. He's okay. He's sitting right here in my lap and he's safe. He doesn't remember anything."

"I know he doesn't remember anything nor will he remember as he's growing up, but I will never forget it, ever again. You know, all of this has nothing to do with you. I trust you with my life and the edit things even more important than that. My kids…"

He gave her a slight smile. "But then why…?"

"Because it's my job to protect him. I have to make sure that he's okay. I can't let him out of my sight because it feels like things go wrong when I do… things went wrong. I just need some time."

"But you're exhausted. Why don't you let me take care of him for a few hours so you can catch some extra sleep?"

"Luke listen. This has nothing to do with me not trusting you. I know that we've been through a lot the past few weeks. I know that I came to a point when I did not trust you and I'm so sorry about that. But I realized that we're okay together. I know that we fight sometimes but that only means that we care. I talked about it with my mom and…"

"You talk about us with your mom?"

Lorelai smiled. "We talk a lot lately. She came to me after we told her that I'm pregnant with twins, knowing I didn't tell the entire story."

"You told her that I left you in the hospital that day?"

"I did."

He shook his head. "I can't believe you did that. She must hate me right now."

"No she doesn't. I know that it was something between you and me and I'm sorry. It's just… she knew that something was up and I had to get it off my chest. I trust her Luke. For the first time in my life I can trust her. I was afraid to tell her because I was afraid she was going to hate you, but she didn't. She even understood. She told me why she didn't like you when we first started dating."

He looked at her with a curious expression. "She did?"

"She was jealous of you. She was afraid she was going to lose me. She knew that if we got together, it would be forever. She knew how much I cared about you and she saw it coming for years. She knew that if you and I were together, I wouldn't need her anymore."

"So she tried to break us up?"

"That's exactly what I asked her." She smiled.

Lucan started wiggling in Luke's arms so he put the boy on the floor. "What did she say?"

"She said that it's the most selfish thing she ever did and the thing she regrets most in her life. Then she said that Chris was never right for me and that he doesn't deserve to be in my life ever again, or in Rory's for that matter."

"Don't say that."

"What? That he's not supposed to be let into my life again?"

"He's still Rory's father."

She shook her head. "No he's not. He's never been Rory's father. You're her father Luke."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. You're the one that's been there for us all the time. You helped me take care of her when she was sick. You came to her caterpillar's funeral. You baked her a cake for her birthday and came to her birthday parties. You were there at her high school graduation. You helped her move into her dorm room at Yale. It was all you Luke. That's what makes you a father, not getting someone pregnant."

"Lorelai." He sighed.

"No. Ask her Luke. Ask her who her real father is."

"I don't want to come between Rory and Christopher."

"If Chris wanted to be in her life she would have let him. She tried so many times but only got disappointed over and over again. But when did this conversation move here? We were talking about trust."

He just nodded.

She looked at the floor where Lucan was sitting with a stuffed bear in his arms. He was hugging the bear and babbling, having a whole conversation in his own way. Then she moved her eyes back to Luke's. "Look at him. He's sitting there all innocent. He's only a year old and he's already been through so much. I'm trying so hard to be a good mother but sometimes I think I'm failing miserably."

"What? Why would you say that? You're the best mother in the world Lorelai. Ask your daughter."

She had to smile at that. "Exactly my point. The truth is, I can try and come up with a thousand excuses, but none are good. You're his father and I should be happy that you're willing to take care of him during the day. I don't think there are many fathers who do that. Most of the time either the mother takes care of the kid otherwise the kid goes to daycare."

"I don't want my kid to go to daycare. And he's as much my kid as he's yours so he's as much my responsibility. And I like spending time with him."

"My mom said that you feel like I don't trust you. You know that I trust you right?" She looked him straight in his eyes, needing to know the truth.

"I know that you trust me although I don't always deserve your trust. It just…."

"It just what?" She tried to encourage him. "Tell me the truth."

"Right now it feels like you don't trust me, even though I know that you do."

"So my mom was right." She sighed. "I already told you I trust you more than anything in the world. I trust you Luke."

"I know that." He stood up, suddenly feeling frustrated. They'd been talking for at least half an hour already, and they were not getting anywhere.

"Luke!"

"Get to the point Lorelai. Tell me why you don't want me to look after our son once in a while."

"I already told you. Because I feel like it's my job to watch him 24 hours a day."

He started pacing the room. "But that's ridicules. We're his parents, together. So it's as much my job as it is yours."

"Don't act like you're not allowed to spend time with him. It's like we're a couple that are getting a divorce and I want full custody."

"What?" He stopped in his path, looking at her in shock.

"I'm not saying that we're getting a divorce. UGH…!" She was getting frustrated. "I don't know how to explain myself. Why can't you just understand that I need some time. It will be better in a few weeks. I know that you're trying to help me but I don't need that right now. All I need is some time to spend with my son. I have to learn to give him some space again and I will, but I just need some time."

"So you're allowed to have this stupid need to spend all your time with him, but I can't have that need? Or when I do have it I just can't fulfill it?" He was getting mad.

She gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I just need some time okay?"

"No." He raised his voice but stopped when he saw Lucan stop his came and look up at him. "Look what we're doing. We're fighting in front of our son. What kind of parents are we?"

"Luke." Her voice was low

He kneeled down next to Lucan and placed a kiss on top of his hand. "I'm sorry buddy. I didn't mean to scare you. Here, do you want to play with Mr Bear again?" He picked up the stuffed animal and handed it to Lucan. He started talking with a funny voice. "Hey Lucan, are you still my friend? Do you want to tell me a story?"

Lucan just started giggling.

"No? You don't want to tell me a story? Do you want to tickle me then?"

Lucan continued giggling.

Luke moved the stuffed bear into Lucan's stomach, using his fingers to tickle his son's sides.

The little boy started giggling harder.

Lorelai was still sitting at the table, watching Luke play with Lucan. She smiled, loving to see the interaction between the two. When she met Luke she never thought he was the guy who would do that. A guy who could put on a different voice and talk for a stuffed animal. She never thought he was the kind of guy who wanted to have kids, but he told her himself a few years ago. 'There will be a discussion when I meet the right woman. A short one, but still a discussion.' And she said the same thing when he asked her if she wanted to have more kids. She replied that there would be a discussion if she met the right guy. In the end there was no discussion because she was already pregnant before they had the change to even discuss it. But she knew it would have been a short discussion, like Luke predicted a long time ago. They met the right person and both wanted a family. Maybe it was a little too soon at the time, but it worked out perfectly. And now they did not only have a son, they were having two more kids. A whole family. This was it. Her whole package.

So with a big smile on her face she was watching Luke play with their son and she knew that he was right. She had been overreacting the past few days. "Luke?"

Luke turned to look at her and noticed a funny expression on his face. He turned back to Lucan. "Here, you play with Mr Bear for a while okay? I'm going to talk to mommy." He stood up and sat down at the table, across from Lorelai.

"Luke, can you watch Lucan tomorrow? I have this meeting and I don't think it's convenient to have a one year old hanging around. Not that having him is inconvenient, I just think I won't be able to focus on my meeting…"

He smiled "I would love to."

"Good." She smiled back.

He waited a few seconds, but he had to know. "What made you change your mind?"

"I know that I can't keep him to myself all the time. I have to learn to give him space to grow up, otherwise he might turn into Kirk."

"Dear God no. I won't ever let that happen."

"I'm glad. I just… I was overreacting. You were right. You have as much right to spend time with him as I do. I know you were just as worried as I was when he was missing. He's our son and we both love him equally."

"We do. But I was overreacting too. I understand that you need some time with him. I just see how exhausted you are because you're working two jobs fulltime and with those stupid nightmares you're just exhausted and I want to help you. It just hurt when I realized you wouldn't let me."

"And it felt as if I didn't trust you. I understand and I'm sorry. Even though he's already a year old I still forget that we're in this together sometimes. It has been just me for so long and sometimes it's not easy to let go and to ask for help."

"I know. I feel the same way. I guess we just have to remind each other sometimes."

"Yeah we do."

"How about we go do something nice together? We can go to Sniffy's and see how Buddy and Maisy are doing? It's been a while since they've seen Lucan. We can call Rory and Warren too if you want?"

"That would be nice. I'll call her and see if she has the time. If not, it will be just us."

"Okay. And since it's still a little early to have dinner, how about you try and get some sleep after you called Rory. Take some time for yourself. I can look after Lucan."

"I'd love that."

T.B.C.


	17. Shock

_A/N: Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter. I promised I would update again this weekend and here it is. The new chapter. For some reason this was not very hard for me to write. It will take this story in a complete new direction and I won't say in what kind of direction or what it is about at this point because you just have to read the chapter and find out yourself. I'm very curious as to what you think of this chapter so please, don't forget to review in the end!  
__Thanks to J.Stone for beta-reading._

**Chapter 17 Shock**

"So you're going to take Lucan to work this morning?" Lorelai was sitting on the couch, while Luke was putting his coat on.

He handed her Lucan's coat. "Yes, and you can pick him up at 3 o clock, after his nap. We've been over this 4 times already."

"I know, I know. I just want to get everything clear in my mind. It's supposed to be a busy morning." She talked while she helped Lucan in his coat.

"Just call me if you don't have the time to pick him up at 3 okay? I don't mind taking care of him all day."

"I know. You're the best." Lorelai stood up, with Lucan in her arms. She kissed the boy. "Be a good boy for your daddy today okay?"

The boy smiled as he hugged his mother for a few seconds.

When Lucan pulled away from her, Lorelai handed him to Luke. "Call me if he gives you a hard time."

"He never does, but I'll call you if I have to."

"Thanks."

"Take it easy okay? I don't want you to overdue it today."

"I won't. I'm going to take a nice hot shower and then I'll head to the inn for the meeting. There's a lot we need to discuss."

"Exactly what I'm talking about."

"Don't worry. It's just a meeting, and we'll all be sitting down. It's no hard work, except for having to listen to Michel's complaints for over an hour."

"Ok. So I'll see you at 3?"

"Unless I need an escape from work and you'll see me for lunch."

He smiled and kissed her. "I better go before I'm late."

"You're the boss. Who cares if you're late?"

"I can think of a few people."

"Kirk huh."

Luke's face betrayed him.

She placed another kiss on his lips. "Love you."

"Love you too." He pulled away from her. "And now I really have to go." He walked towards the door, opened it and turned around one last time.

But she gave him a light push before he had the chance to say anything. "Now go."

"Yeah, yeah." He walked towards his truck and put Lucan in the car seat. There was a car seat in both the car and in his truck so they could both take him if they needed to go somewhere.

Lorelai watched how Luke put Lucan in his car seat and then moved to the other side of the truck and got in himself. He started the truck and started backing out of the driveway. He waved one last time and started towards the diner. Lorelai continued watching until she couldn't see him anymore. Then she went back inside and closed the door behind her. With a smile on her face she walked upstairs where she was about to get ready for the day.

She walked into her bedroom and opened the closet. She didn't have a lot of choice since she couldn't fit in her own clothes anymore. She settled for a pair of black maternity pants and a thin light green sweater. She took some underwear from her underwear drawer and walked into the bathroom. She turned on the shower before she undressed herself, making sure there was a towel in her reach before she stepped under the hot steaming water. She let herself relax under the water for a few minutes before she picked up a shampoo bottle and let some shampoo drip on her hands. She washed her curls and let it rinse off. Then she took another bottle and started to wash her body. When she washed her left breast with her right hand, something got her attention. Something she hadn't felt before.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai walked into the inn. The unexpected events of that morning made her run late. She had called her OBGYN and asked for advice and she got the number of another physician who was willing to see her the same day. She got an appointment for eleven o clock.

She entered the dining room, where the whole staff was already gathered. Sookie looked up at her friend, a worried expression on her face. "Sorry I'm late. Have you started already?"

"No we were about to, but we were still waiting for you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Let me get a cup of tea from the kitchen, and then I'll be ready to get started, okay?"

"Sure."

Lorelai walked into the kitchen. This meeting was the last thing she wanted to do right now, but she knew she could use the distraction. She filled a cup with tea and walked back into the dining room, where everybody was still waiting for her patiently. She sat down at the only free spot at the table, and sorted through the papers that were laying on the table in front of her. She looked at the notes from the last meeting and tried to decide where to begin the meeting. When she looked up from the papers she saw everybody staring at her expectantly. "Okay, let's start with the notes of the last meeting. Michel, how did……."

The meeting took over an hour. Lorelai had a hard time concentrating, and everybody noticed that something was up. But they all respected her privacy and didn't ask about it. Not even when Lorelai excused herself the second she ended the meeting.

It wasn't until 5 minutes later, she heard a knock on her office door. "Yeah?"

The door opened and Sookie walked in. "Hey. Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

Lorelai looked at her friend and tried to fake a shocked expression. "Where are you talking about?"

Sookie wasn't impressed by Lorelai's response. "I know something is up. Did you and Luke have a fight?"

"No, we're perfect."

"You sure?"

"Positive. We've been doing really good lately. I promise."

"Then what's up. And don't tell me it's nothing, because I know you and I know that you're not okay."

"I'm just a little tired. I haven't slept very well lately."

Sookie looked at her friend skeptically. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I'm just tired, that's all. The twins know how to keep me awake at night. I'm already starting to get uncomfortable in the bed and I'm not that fat yet."

Sookie smiled, knowing how hard it can be to find a comfortable position in bed when you're pregnant. And she was never pregnant with twins. "Why don't you go home, get some rest. We can manage without you."

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying here a while longer." It was a lie, as she had a doctors appointment in an hour.

"I'm sure. Michel and Claire are doing a great job even when you're not around."

"I'm glad." Lorelai looked at her friend and tried to decide if she should tell her the truth. It would be nice to get her story off her chest. But she couldn't worry her friend. She didn't want to tell Luke anything until she knew for sure, and she knew Sookie would push her into telling him. "I just have to make a phone call and then I'm out of here."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. But only if you're feeling okay."

"I'll call you."

Lorelai waited until Sookie closed the door behind her, before she picked up the phone. She dialed the familiar number of her parents and waited for someone to pick up.

"Emily Gilmore speaking."

"Hey mom it's me, Lorelai."

"Hey." Emily was happy to hear her daughter's voice.

"Mom, I was thinking about grandma."

"You mean my mother?"

"Yeah. I remember she died when I was about 10 years old. Did she have cancer?"

"Breast cancer. But why these questions?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "When I was in the shower this morning I felt something."

"The babies? Are they okay?"

"Yeah, that's not what I meant. I feel something in my left breast and that made me think about grandma."

"I'm sure it's nothing Lorelai. She was a lot older than you are. It's very uncommon for woman your age to have breast cancer."

"I'm almost 40 years old mom. It's not uncommon at all."

"Don't think like that okay. Did you call a doctor?"

"I have an appointment at 11 o clock."

"Is Luke coming with you?"

"No. I don't want to tell him until I know something. I know it's wrong not to tell him, but he lost both his parents at a young age and I just don't want him to worry over nothing. It's probably nothing, but you know, just to be sure."

"Are you going to Hartford memorial?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Meet me at the main entrance a quarter before 11."

"Mom, that's not necessary."

"I respect that you don't want to tell Luke yet, but you're not going alone."

"But."

"No buts Lorelai. I'll see you in 45 minutes."

Lorelai sighed. "Thanks." Then she hung up the phone. She took a minute to control herself before she dialed another number.

"Luke's."

"Hey Luke, it's me."

"Lorelai? What's wrong?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I won't be able to make it for lunch today, so I'll see you at 3."

"It's only 10 o clock. You already know you're not going to make it for lunch? I thought you were going to take it easy today."

"I am taking it easy. I'm going to Hartford."

"Hartford?"

"Sookie sent me away so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to go see how my mom's doing." She didn't feel comfortable lying to Luke and this way, but most of what she said was true. She knew there was a possibility he would call in to check on her only to find out she left. And she didn't want him to worry.

"Okay. Thanks for calling. Drive safe okay?"

"I will."

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai had to wait a few minutes before she saw Emily approaching. She managed a small smile. "Hey mom."

"Hey." Emily took her daughter in and noticed how nervous she looked. "Are you ready to go in?"

"I don't think I'll ever be ready, but I have to know the truth. It's just…"

Emily took Lorelai's hand in hers and squeezed it lightly. "I know."

"I'm scared mom."

"I know Lorelai. I know."

"What if…."

Emily let go of Lorelai's hand and put a finger on her lips. "Don't think like that okay? You're a young, healthy woman and there's nothing wrong with you. I promise."

Lorelai nodded. "Let's get inside."

They walked towards the right floor and checked in with the admit nurse. Then they sat down in the waiting room. "How old was grandma when she…?"

"Lorelai, you have to stop these thoughts."

"I know mom, but I…"

"She was 55."

"Were there other people, in the family?"

"My mother had an aunt who had breast cancer."

"So it runs in the family." Lorelai sighed.

"It runs in every family Lorelai. I once heard that 10 percent of all women get breast cancer. That's 1 on every 10 women."

Lorelai closed her eyes as she tried to relax, but was failing miserably. But she didn't had the time to think much longer, when they called her name.

"Lorelai Danes in exam 4."

"Let's go." Both women stood up and walked into the right room.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Robert Wilson."

"Lorelai Danes, and this is my mother Emily Gilmore."

The doctor shook the hands of both women. "Please sit down."

They sat down across from the doctor.

"What can I do for you?"

Lorelai closed her eyes for a few seconds before she was able to talk. "This morning in the shower I felt a small lump in my left breast."

"Have you ever felt it before?"

"No. This is the first time."

"Okay. Let me ask you a few questions first, then we'll do a physical exam, okay?"

Lorelai nodded.

"I see that you're pregnant. How far along are you?"

"4 and a half months."

The doctor looked confused.

"They're twins."

"Okay, I see. Do you have more kids?"

"I have a daughter and a son."

"How old are they?"

"My daughter is 22, and my son is almost 14 months."

The doctor wrote something down. "Did you notice any changes in your breast the last few months?"

"They've grown, but I think that's a symptom of the pregnancy. They hurt a little sometimes, but that's the same story."

"Okay." He wrote this down as well. "Have you had any operations on your breasts?"

"No, never."

"No infections?"

"No." She shook her head.

"Do you have any family members diagnosed with breast cancer?"

"My mother's mother died of breast cancer. And my grandmother's aunt had breast cancer as well."

"And you?" He looked at Emily.

"I'm fine."

"Have you ever had a mammography?"

"No."

"How old was your mother when she was diagnosed with breast cancer?"

"54. She died a year later."

"And how old are you?"

"I beg you pardon." Emily looked slightly hurt. "We're here to talk about my daughter, not about me."

"I understand. But now that you're here, I'd like to examine you as well."

"I don't need an exam. I need you to tell me that my daughter is okay. Do that examination, take some x-rays. Do whatever you have to do."

"I will do everything to find out if there is something wrong with your daughter. But I would really like to examine you as well. All I need for now are a few mammography pictures."

Emily wanted to protest again, when Lorelai decided to speak. "Mom, I'd feel a lot better if you were examined too. Do it for me okay?"

Emily looked at her daughter, then back to the doctor. "Okay, but only because my daughter wants me to."

"Good. Mrs. Danes, I don't want to take x-rays of you, because you're pregnant. We'll do an ultrasound instead which is just as accurate but safer for your babies. Mrs. Gilmore. Let me call the x-ray department and see if they can squeeze you in right now."

He picked up his phone and talked to someone. Then he took a piece of paper out of one of the boxes on his desk and wrote down a few things. He handed the form to Emily. "They are expecting you right now. The radiology department is one floor down on the left hand side."

"I want to stay with my daughter."

"I understand, but they have a very busy schedule and the sooner I have the pictures the better. I promise you I won't do anything to hurt your daughter and you can come back inside as soon as you're finished downstairs."

Lorelai looked at her mother. "Go on mom. I'm fine."

Emily nodded, then picked up her purse and took the paper from the doctor. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

When Emily left the exam room, the doctor focused his attention on Lorelai again. "If you take off all your upper clothes, you can lie down on that table."

She nodded and walked towards the table. She took off her clothes and laid down. The doctor covered her with a towel.

"Can you point out where you felt the lump this morning?"

Lorelai nodded and tried to feel the lump. "Right here."

"My hands can be a little cold." The doctor moved his hands over the tissue of her breast.

"Do you feel it?"

"I feel something. Let's do an ultrasound to find out what it is. It could be a swollen gland or a cyst."

"But it could be something else."

"Let's not jump into conclusions okay? I want you to put your left arm above your head and turn on your right side a little. I'll put a pillow underneath your back." He put a pillow under Lorelai's left side so she was a little more comfortable. Then he squeezed some gel on his transducer. "I'm going to move this little machine over your breast. It's kind of the same as when they look at your baby, only now I'm examining the breast tissue."

"So, cold gel?"

He gave her an apologetic look.

"Why can't you warm that stuff up?" She shivered when her skin came in contact with the gel. She tried to look at the screen from the ultrasound machine, but couldn't make out anything.

The doctor carefully scanned all the tissue, looking at the screen. "Here we are." He pointed at the screen.

Lorelai saw a small black spot where the doctor pointed. "What is it?"

"A small cyst." He did some more things Lorelai couldn't understand.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm doing one last test to make sure it is actually a cyst, which it is. There's no blood flow inside the lesion. And now I'm measuring the diameter. "8 mm."

"A cyst… is that bad?"

"No. A cyst a cavity filled with fluid. It's not malign. I can drain it for you if you want, but there's a big chance it will come back."

"But if you leave it there, will it grow?"

"There's a possibility. But almost every woman has a cyst somewhere. I want to scan both of your breasts to make sure there are no other cysts if that's okay with you."

"Of course. Please."

The doctor took a long time for his examination. Lorelai waited patiently, feeling a lot better already, but still a little nervous, afraid he would find something else.

"We're done. You can dress yourself, unless you want me to drain the cyst for you. But I would advise you not to do that."

"It can't do any damage if it stays there?" She felt a little uncomfortable knowing she had something in her body that did not belong there.

"No. We can monitor you once a year to see if there is any difference. If it grows or starts to give you any discomfort we can always decide to drain it."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay."

"You can take your time to clean yourself and to put your clothes back on. I'll go and see if your mother's x-rays are ready."

She nodded. "Thank you so much doctor."

He nodded. "You're welcome." And with that he left the room.

Lorelai was already dressed and sitting at one of the chairs again, when Emily walked in. "And?"

"I'm fine mom. It was just a small cyst. It can do no harm."

"Did they remove it?"

"No. He says it's not necessary and that if he removes or drains it there's a big chance that it comes back again. I just have to come back once a year so he can keep an eye on it."

Emily nodded.

"And you? Did they tell you something about the pictures?"

"No. The doctor has to see them first. All they told me that everything was on them. I will never have pictures like that taken again. They squeeze your breast into this machine, pressing far too hard. They were not listening to me when I said it hurt. They say it's necessary. Can you believe that?"

"I don't know mom. I never had mammography done before, but I'm sure they know what they're doing."

"I highly doubt that."

There was a knock on the door. "Yes?"

The doctor walked in.

"This is your office. You don't have to knock."

"I wanted to give you some privacy." He sat down in his chair. "Mrs. Gilmore, I'm sure your daughter informed you that she's okay?"

"Yes she did. How about me?"

The doctor took a deep breath, which made both Lorelai and Emily alert for what was coming next. "I've looked at the pictures together with one of the radiologists We found something abnormal on the pictures of your right breast. I want to do an ultrasound and maybe a biopsy if the ultrasound doesn't give us enough information."

Lorelai gashed and Emily looked at the doctor in shock. She couldn't believe that what the doctor just told her was true. "That's impossible. I don't believe you."

The doctor looked Emily in the eye. "I'm sorry but it's true."

Emily shook her head. "No."

"Let me show you." He opened a program on his computer and entered some numbers. After a few mouse clicks he turned his monitor around so Emily and Lorelai could look at it. "These are the pictures of your right breast. This one here is a side picture and the other one is a front picture. You see those little white spots over here? They are called calcifications."

Emily tried to take in the information. "What does it mean?"

"It can be an indication of a tumor."

"You mean cancer?"

The doctor nodded. "But we have to do an ultrasound and a biopsy to be sure. It's best if we do it right now so we know if there's something wrong, and if it comes to that, start treatment as soon as possible. But we're not there yet. We need to find out what it is exactly we're seeing here on these pictures."

Emily nodded. "Do it."

"Do you want me to call your husband?"

"No. I need some time telling him. I have my daughter. She can stay here right?"

"Of course. I'll give you a few minutes. When you're ready you can take your top clothes off and lie down on the table. There's a blanket next to it so you can cover yourself."

"Thank you."

Doctor Wilson walked away, leaving Lorelai and Emily alone for a few minutes.

Lorelai turned to face her mother, while her eyes were filled with tears. "Mom…"

"It's okay Lorelai. Don't worry okay? I'll be fine. I promise."

"But this is big mom. It might be cancer. I…"

"Shh…. Don't say it okay. I know that you're afraid but you have to be brave."

Lorelai shook her head. "It's not like I'm five years old when I fell down and I couldn't cry because it would make me seem like a baby. I'm a woman and…"

"I know you are. I just… I don't want to think about it right now okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Okay."

"Let's get this over with." Emily started undressing and lay down on the table, covering herself with a blanket. "Why don't you go see if the doctor's ready."

Lorelai nodded. "I'll be right back." She walked outside and saw the doctor standing at the desk, talking with one of the nurses. She walked towards them and they both looked up when they saw her. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but my mom's ready."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Lorelai walked back into the exam room and not much later the doctor followed. He did an ultrasound that was about the same as Lorelai had earlier, only this time he didn't find a cyst. "I see something right here. It's about 2 centimeters each way. We have to do a biopsy before we can tell what it is."

Lorelai looked at her mother and saw the fear in her eyes. Fear for not knowing what was going to happen. Fear for the results of the test. "A biopsy, how does that work?"

"I have to call a pathologist who will come and assist me. He was right next door earlier so it won't be long. When he's here, I will look with the ultrasound machine to find a good angle towards the lesion. Then I'll insert a needle and take some tissue. The pathologist will put it under the microscope and tell us if he has enough cells to see to make a diagnosis, otherwise we might have to do it again."

"Will it hurt?" It wasn't as if Emily was afraid of needles. She had seen a lot of them in her life, but this scared her a little.

"I'll try to do it as fast as possible, but you will feel a little sting."

Emily nodded and respected the man's honesty.

They had to wait for the pathologist for a few minutes. While they were waiting for him, Doctor Wilson asked one of the nurses to set up for the biopsy so they could start as soon as the pathologist arrived. When everything was set, Dr. Wilson put the probe from the ultrasound machine back on Emily's skin. He looked at the screen while he was looking for the perfect angle. "Mrs. Danes, why don't you hold your mother's hand for a while." When he found it, the pathologist handed him the needle. "Here it comes."

Emily squeezed Lorelai's hand tight as the needled entered her breast tissue. "Aw…"

The pathologist put a little machine on top of the needle so he could drain some tissue inside the needle. When he thought he had enough he told Dr. Wilson to pull back. While the pathologist went to take a look at the sample, Dr. Wilson checked the area where they had just taken a biopsy from with ultrasound.

Lorelai was still holding her mother's hand tight, not wanting to let go. She looked her in the eye the entire time, not wanting to see what they were doing with her, and even though she hated to see the pain on her mother's face, it was better than the other option. She suddenly realized why Luke hated hospitals so much. All she wanted to do was run, and when she saw the single tear that was tracing her mother's cheek, she wanted nothing more than to take her mother with her.

They didn't know how long it took, before the pathologist came back. "The biopsy is accurate."

"Thank you." Dr. Wilson nodded.

"Doctor?" Lorelai turned around to look at the pathologist. "Can you tell anything yet?"

"I'm sorry. I have to take a very close look before I can tell you anything. Doctor Wilson will explain the procedure to you."

She nodded. "Thanks anyway."

Emily got a small bandage on the place of the injection and a few paper towels to dry her skin. The doctor told her to come back the next day for the result and to talk about a possible treatment.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai and Emily were standing in front of the hospital. "Mom, do you want me to give you a ride home?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Really, I wouldn't mind. I don't want you to get into an accident or something."

"I promise I'll be careful. I want to drive around for a while, just by myself. I have to figure out how I'm going to tell this to your father."

"I can come with you. I can be there for you when…"

Emily raised her hand. "I have to tell him this myself. I appreciate that you're trying to help me, but that's not necessary. You have to go home before Luke gets worried, okay?"

"He'll understand."

"I know he would. But I really want to be alone for a while."

"Can I at least come here tomorrow and be there with you when…"

"I'd appreciate that."

Lorelai smiled slightly.

"Don't tell Rory yet, okay? I don't want to worry her. It may be nothing."

"Mom.."

"I know that there's a big chance that it's something, but let me have this. Just today, okay?"

"If that's what you want. Of course."

"Good. Now go home and don't worry too much about me okay?"

"I'll try."

"Good. I love you Lorelai."

"I love you too mom." Lorelai pulled her mother in a hug, never wanting to let go. But eventually she had to and she watched how her mother walked away, trying to build up her courage to break the news to Richard.

T.B.C.


	18. Letting go

_A/N: I know I promised most of you I would update last minute, but I'm only 2 days late. A few things came up, making myself realize that life never goes without any problems, but okay. Not really an interesting story so I'm not going to bother you with it :P Let's just say that I was pretty exhausted this weekend and slept half the time and had to spend some time with my friends and family the other half and before I knew it I had to come back to Ede, where I am right now._

_I got a few questions about what I'm going to be. A nurse or a doctor. Neither actually. I'm studying medical imaging and radiotherapy. I'm going to be the technician working with the machines. Making x-rays and ultrasounds etc. Right now I have an internship in Nuclear Medicine. For those of you who don't know what it is, you make pictures as well. Only you inject the radioactivity into the patient and the camera detects this and makes a picture out of it. The radioactivity is attached to something that goes to a specific organ. This way you can make pictures of the heart, of the kidneys, of the bones and a lot more.  
__I see quite a few patients with breast cancer. A few before surgery with a procedure called a sentinel node, where you locate the first lymph node in the arm pit. And a lot for bone scans where you look for metastases. But fortunately 80 of the time they have nothing.  
__When I was in Norway I spend 2 weeks in the mammography department. I made the pictures, I assisted with ultrasounds and biopsies so that's why I know into details how it's handled. If it was a little too much visual, I'm sorry, but I like to get it detailed and hope it was educative as well._

_But this note is getting way too long. You're all waiting to read the new chapters. If you want more information about what I do and what it holds exactly, just tell me in a review or send me a personal message.  
__For now, thanks to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter and enjoy this one! And of course, don't forget to review in the end!_

**Chapter 18 Letting go**

Lorelai drove straight towards the diner. She tried to keep her mind away from everything, but was failing terribly. She fought hard to keep her tears at bay, and so far she was succeeding. But the events of the day were getting to her and it became more and more difficult. When she parked her car in front of the diner, she was happy to see that the place was almost empty. She took a few deep breaths before she walked inside.

Luke smiled when he saw his wife walk in. "How was lunch with your mother."

Lorelai couldn't get any words out, and the look on her face told Luke enough.

"Let's go upstairs." He turned around towards the kitchen. "Caesar I'm taking a break." He put a hand on Lorelai's back and coached her towards his apartment. Once they were inside, Lorelai turned around in his arms and started crying uncontrollably. Luke had no idea what was going on, what happened at her mother's, but he could tell something terrible had happened. He had so many questions, but knew he wouldn't get any answers at this point. So he did the one thing he could, holding Lorelai and trying his best to comfort her.

It took her almost ten minutes to calm down slightly. Luke was still holding her and felt relieved when she finally started to relax in his arms. He waited a few more minutes before he spoke, trying to give her a chance to start talking first. "Lorelai, what happened?"

She took a deep breath. "I don't… I can't…" Her voice was shaking, as new tears entered her eyes.

"Did you have a fight with your mother?"

She shook her head. "No."

That surprised Luke. "What happened?"

She swallowed hard. "You're going to be so mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you? What did you do?" He got more confused by the second.

"Because I didn't tell you."

"Didn't tell me what?"

She buried her face even deeper in his chest.

"I can't help you if you don't talk to me. If I look at you now, and see how upset you are, I can't believe it's just because you think I'll be mad at you. Tell me what happened."

"I…" She hiccupped. "I…"

"Come on, let's sit down." He tried to pull away from her so they could walk towards the couch."

"Please, don't let go of me."

"I won't, but you need to give me a little space here."

She nodded and pulled away a little. He put his arm around her shoulder and guided her towards the couch. They sat down together and Lorelai leaned into Luke again immediately. "Please, don't ever let me go."

"I won't." He closed his eyes for a few seconds. "I'll never let you go." He wanted to ask her what happened again, but he wanted to give her the time to tell him first.

She started crying again and slowly felt how her eyes started closing. She was exhausted. The events of the day drained the energy out of her and it didn't took long before she fell asleep.

Luke looked at his wife, not understanding what happened to her that day. Somehow he was relieved she was sleeping, but he really wanted to know what happened. Part of him wanted to call Emily and ask her what had happened, but he promised Lorelai he wouldn't let her go, and the phone was laying on the kitchen table so he remained seated while holding Lorelai in his arms.

-xxxxxx-

Emily drove around for an hour, trying to think of a good way to tell Richard that she might have cancer. But the longer she thought about it, the more she started to realize there wasn't any. She parked her car in the garage and saw that Richard was home. She stayed in her car for a few minutes, trying to gain some extra time. But she knew that putting it off wouldn't make it any easier. Not for her, and definitely not for him. So she picked up her purse and got out of the car. She closed the garage door and walked towards the house.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Gilmore." Emily's maid Sophia greeted her boss.

"Hello Sophia. Is my husband in his office?"

"Yes ma'am. Can I take your coat?"

Emily nodded, took off her coat and handed it to Sophia. "Thank you."

"You're welcome ma'am. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, thank you. Why don't you clean up the vacuum cleaner and go home."

"Are you sure ma'am?"

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Have a good evening ma'am."

"You too Sophia."

Emily walked into the living room and waited a few minutes. When she heard the front door close, she stood up and walked towards Richard's office. She knocked the door twice.

"Yes?"

Emily opened the door and walked inside. "Hello Richard."

Richard looked up. "Oh, Emily, it's you."

"Yes, of course it's me. Who did you expect?"

"I don't know. I should have known it was you. Did you have a nice day with Lorelai?"

"It was fine."

Richard looked at her over his glasses. "Good. Well, if you don't mind, I have to make a few phone calls. What time is dinner?"

"Dinner is at 7 Richard. It has always been at seven, as long as we're married."

"Of course. Well, I'll see you at seven then."

"Actually…"

"What is it Emily?"

"Can we talk?"

"Can't it wait? I'm really busy here."

"No, it can't wait." She fought hard to keep her voice even.

"I can't think of something so important that can't wait for half an hour. I have to make one call, then I'll come to the living room to talk to you."

"Fine." She turned around and walked out of his office. She knew she would say a few things that would hurt him later if she stayed, and she knew she had to hurt him enough with what she had to tell, so she decided to give him all the time he needed.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai opened her eyes half an hour later. Luke felt her shifting in his arms and squeezed her shoulder to let her know that he was still there. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Are you feeling better?"

"A little. Thanks for holding me."

"You don't have to thank me."

She smiled slightly, then tried to prepare herself for what she had to say. She suddenly needed some space so she pulled away from him. He hesitated to let her go. "It's okay." She stood up and took a few steps. She walked towards Lucan's bed and saw that he was still asleep. Relieved that he was still asleep, even though he was too young to understand what was going on, she walked back towards the couch, but kept some distance. She remained standing while she searched for Luke's eyes. While they were holding eye contact she started talking. "I don't have breast cancer."

Luke shook his head. He had no idea what he was expecting her to say, but this didn't make any sense. "Of course not."

She closed her eyes, not able to keep eye contact any longer. "This morning in the shower I felt a small lump in my breast."

"What?"

"I went to the doctor and he did an ultrasound and it's a small cyst. It's nothing bad."

"Slow down." He rubbed his sleeps. "I don't understand. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to worry you."

"I'm your husband Lorelai. Why do you think that you have to protect me?"

"Because you lost both your mother and your father and I didn't want you to worry about losing me. I know it was wrong but I didn't know how it felt, until now."

He had a hard time understanding what she was saying. It was like she was jumping from one thing to another and none of it was making sense. "Why don't you tell me the entire story because it wasn't relieve that I saw in your eyes when you came home. It was pain and fear and I don't understand any of it. Please sit down and talk to me."

She nodded as she sat down next to him. "Okay." She took a shaky breath. "I was standing in the shower this morning and when I was washing myself, I felt something in my breast. Right here." She pointed to the spot. "I called Dr. Elder and asked her if it could have something to do with the pregnancy and she arranged an appointment with a doctor specialized in breast diseases. I thought about telling you, I really did, but I didn't want to worry you. I know I should have told you right away, but I just couldn't. The chance was much bigger that nothing was wrong with me so I didn't want to worry you. That I was worried myself, was enough. I went to the meeting at the inn and had a really hard time focusing. Somehow I made it to the end of the meeting. Then, when I pulled back in my office afterwards, Sookie came in to talk to me. I put it of as tiredness and she sent me home. It was the perfect excuse to go home without having to explain anything.

But I was afraid. I really was afraid and because I couldn't tell you, I called my mother to get the story off my chest. She insisted on coming to the doctor's appointment with me. I remembered that my grandmother, mom's mother, died of breast cancer when I was a little girl. She died when she was a little younger than my mother is now. The doctor started asking questions to my mom and insisted on examining her as well. While she went to the radiology department for x-rays, I got an ultrasound, because they didn't want to do any x-rays because I'm pregnant."

She paused to look at him, wanting to make sure he took in all the information. He noticed this and nodded to give her a confirmation.

"He saw this small black spot and said it was a cyst. He did a few tests to confirm this. I asked if we had to take it out, but he says it's not necessary so I just have to come back after a year for a check-up."

"Why can't they take it out?"

"Because if they do, there's a big change it comes back. But it's not dangerous and if it will give me any discomfort or if it grows, he'll take it out."

Luke nodded. "Okay."

"When he finished the examination my mother came back in. He went to look at her x-rays and when he came back he started explaining that they saw something. I don't remember what it was, but there was something that made him think of cancer. I don't know. They did an ultrasound as well and saw something. He wasn't sure if it's cancer so they did a biopsy and now we have to wait until tomorrow for the test results."

Luke looked at her and saw that it wouldn't take long before she'd start crying again. He pulled her into his arms. "You have to think positive okay? We don't know for sure that it's cancer. Maybe it's nothing."

She shook her head. "That's what I tried telling myself over and over again, but I think part of me is just preparing for the worse. My grandmother had it, and now there's a big chance my mother has it too."

He hugged her tight, not knowing what to say, and knowing that he couldn't say anything to make her feel better. All he could do now was be there for her while they waited for tomorrow to come. For the test results to be told.

-xxxxxx-

Emily waited patiently in the living room. It took Richard almost two hours before he came out of his office. "Sorry but Bob made a fault that caused us to lose our biggest client in Japan. I knew that I couldn't trust that boy. I told you many times that he's not capable of doing his job. I had to make a dozen phone calls, but I think I managed to control the damage. I have to fly to Japan next week for a meeting and with some luck we can extend the contract for two more years."

"That's wonderful Richard."

"Thank you Emily." He sat down on the couch across from her. "What is it that you wanted to talk about?"

She looked at her husband, once again trying to decide how to break the news. Suddenly she wasn't sure if she should tell him. Maybe it was better to wait until tomorrow. What if there was nothing wrong with her? Maybe it was all a mistake. Maybe it wasn't cancer like her mother had all those years ago. Maybe it was something benign. Maybe it was just a bad dream and she'd wake up soon. There was enough time to tell him after tomorrow, whether it turned out to be good or bad news. "It's nothing important Richard. You were right. Why don't you make a few more phone calls before dinner?"

He looked at his wife, trying to decide whether or not she was lying to him. But why would she lie? "I'll go call Karen and see if she can get me on a plane to Tokyo on Monday."

This made her doubt once again if she had to tell him the truth. If it turned out to be cancer he might not be able to go to Japan next week. "Maybe you should wait with that."

"Why should I wait? The longer I wait, the less chance there is that there will actually be a free seat available."

"I understand. But maybe something comes up so you can't go to Japan next week."

"What could possible happen before next Monday so I won't be able to fly to Japan? You're being ridicules Emily. I'm going to call Karen and I'll see you for dinner." He stood up and walked towards his office.

"Richard wait."

He turned around and looked at her expectantly. "Yes Emily?"

She sighed, not knowing how to tell him this.

"If you don't want to tell me what it is that's bothering you, I'll go to my office." He started walking again.

Emily stopped him again. "Richard wait. I think you have to sit down for this."

He turned around and looked at her. There was something in her eyes that caused his heart to beat faster. He suddenly knew she had to tell him something, and she had no idea how to tell him. He walked towards her and sat down next to her. He took her hands in his and looked her straight in her eyes. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

She swallowed hard. "I don't know how to tell you this Richard."

"We've been through so much together. Whatever it is, we'll get through it. I promise."

"You don't know that. You don't even know what I'm going to tell you."

"No I don't, and I won't know unless you tell me."

"I love you Richard."

"I know. I love you too Emily." He squeezed her hands, trying to let her know that it was okay. That he was listening to her.

"I had mammography pictures taken today, and they saw something. They did an ultrasound and a biopsy. I won't get the test results until tomorrow, but there might be a chance that I have breast cancer."

"What?" His breath got stuck in his throat as he tried to process what she was saying.

"There's a chance that I have breast cancer." She repeated the words slowly, trying to get him to understand what she was telling him.

He nodded. "When are you going to find out?"

"I have an appointment tomorrow morning at ten o clock."

He nodded again. "I have to call Karen and have her cancel all my appointments tomorrow." He stood up and walked away. Emily didn't stop him this time. She knew he needed the time to process this by himself.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai remained in Luke's arms until she heard Lucan woke up. She pulled away from him and placed a kiss on his lips. "Thank you."

He just nodded.

She walked towards the crib. "Hey buddy."

Lucan smiled at his mother, and pulled himself in a standing position while he was holding himself with one hand and put his other arm in the air.

Lorelai picked him up and hugged him tight. "Did you sleep okay sweetie?" He put his head on her shoulder and let out a small sigh. She smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Let's get you a clean diaper huh." She walked towards the changing table and changed his diaper. After that she put him on the floor, holding his hands. He carefully placed one foot in front of the other and slowly they walked across the apartment.

Luke watched the interaction between Lucan and Lorelai. He saw how she held his hands as she made him walk. He realized she needed a sane moment right now. She needed her life to be normal, even if it was just for five minutes. He decided to mangle in their game and kneeled down on the floor, about ten feet away from Lorelai and Lucan. He opened his arms. "Come to daddy."

The little boy smiled and tried to walk faster. "Dada."

When he almost tripped over his own feet, Lorelai held him up. "Slow down there buddy." When the distance between Luke and Lucan was about five inches, she slowly let go of Lucan's hands. The boy took a few more steps before he let himself fall in the arms of his father.

Luke looked up at Lorelai in amazement. "Did you see that? He walked."

She had a huge smile on her face. "I saw it."

Luke turned Lucan around, holding him underneath his arm pits. "Walk to mommy."

When Luke let go of him, he took a few steps towards his mother before he fell down. She was fast enough to catch him before he reached the floor. She lifted him up and placed a kiss on his nose. "Look at you. You can walk."

They repeated this game a few more times until Lucan was tired and let himself fall down when Luke let go of him. Luke took him in his arms. "You don't want to walk anymore huh?" He placed a kiss on his forehead. "How about you play with your mommy for a while and I make us some dinner?" He handed Lucan to Lorelai. "What do you want to eat?"

"I'm not really hungry."

"I know, but you have to eat."

"Luke." She sighed.

"Think about the babies. They need you healthy okay?"

She looked down at her stomach. "Okay."

"What do you want?"

"I don't know."

"How about lasagna?"

"Sounds good."

"Okay. Lasagna it is."

-xxxxxx-

When Richard still hadn't come out of his office an hour later, Emily decided to check up on him. She knocked on his door and waited, but when she got no reply, she opened the door and stepped inside. "Hey."

He looked up. "Hey."

She walked towards his desk and sat down across from him, waiting for him to start talking.

"Why didn't you mention anything before? Why didn't you tell me you had a doctor's appointment today?"

"I didn't know."

"You told me you were meeting Lorelai for lunch. You lied to me."

"Yes I did. I lied to you, but I was meeting Lorelai. She was the one with a doctor's appointment, only I turned out to be the one being sick."

"We don't know that, do we?"

"Not for sure, but there's a big chance. We both know that my mother died of breast cancer when she was even younger than I am right now."

"That doesn't mean that you have it too. You have to think positive." He raised his voice slightly.

She looked at him. "I tried. I really tried. But we have to be realistic here Richard. We shouldn't fool ourselves."

"So you're saying that you have it for sure? That no matter what the doctor is going to tell you tomorrow, that you're going to die?"

"No, of course not. Even if the doctor tells me I have cancer tomorrow, that does not mean I'm going to die. You hear me, I am not going to die. I know you promised me I can go first a few years ago, but I am not ready to leave you yet. There are so many things to live for. I want to see Rory graduate from Yale. I want to see her and Warren get married. I want to see the twins get born and I want to see all my grandchildren grow up. I'm going to fight this Richard. No matter what it takes, I'm not going to die."

"You don't know that, do you."

Her eyes filled with tears for the first time that day. "So you're just going to give up on me?" She stood up, not being able to handle that thought. She walked out of his office and ignored Richard yelling her name over and over again. She heard him following close as she walked towards the front door. She went outside towards the garage where she parked her car earlier that day. She made it inside her car, but had trouble getting it started. Before she knew it Richard had her door opened and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. Please come inside the house with me."

She looked at him and saw regret in his eyes. She nodded as she got out of the car. They walked inside together and sat down on the couch in the living room.

"I'm sorry."

"I know. It's okay. We're both having a hard time right now. This is different than what we've been facing before in our lives. But we made it through everything. I survived when Lorelai ran away with Rory when she was only 17 years old. I made it through our breakup and we made it through every other battle we faced in the past 40 years. If it wasn't for Lorelai we may had discovered this too late, but I feel that it's going to be okay. I'm going to fight this. I promise you that I'm not going to die. Not within the next 20 years."

He smiled as he started to believe her words. "No you won't."

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai picked at her food, still not feeling hungry. She swallowed down a few bites to pleasure Luke, but her plate was still almost completely full.

"Don't you like it? I put in extra cheese for you, but if you want something else I'll make it."

She shook her head. "No thanks. This is fine."

"But you've hardly eaten anything."

She took another bite. "See, I'm eating. I'm just not really hungry."

"I understand." He focused his attention on Lucan, who was waiting with an open mouth patiently. "Here you go buddy."

"Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think my mother's going to die?"

"What? Of course not."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure."

"But my grandmother died of breast cancer. And she was younger than my mother is right now."

"That's 30 years ago Lorelai. A lot has changed since. They have much better techniques now. You just have to think positive."

She knew it was hard for him to say that. He was there through every step when his father was diagnosed with cancer. She knew that they were positive in the beginning, but that it soon turned out to be hopeless. "It's just a little hard to think positive right now. And think about what happened with…"

"Don't say it okay. I know what you want to say right now and I don't want to hear it. What happened with my father was completely different."

"He had cancer and now my mother has cancer. What's the difference?"

"His cancer was in a very advanced stage. He was diagnosed too late. Surgery wasn't an option and the chemo had no effect. But your mother will be fine. She'll have surgery, maybe some radiotherapy or some chemo therapy and she will live a long and healthy life."

"You don't know that, now do you?"

"But honey, you don't even know that she has cancer. They did a biopsy and you won't hear the test results until tomorrow. Maybe it turns out to be nothing. Maybe there's nothing wrong with her."

"I have to be realistic Luke. We're not talking about a fifty-fifty chance here. There's a much bigger chance she has it than she doesn't."

"Says who?"

"Me."

He knew what she was doing. She was trying to prepare herself for the worse. "Lorelai you have to think positive. You're not helping anyone by thinking worse case scenario."

She shook her head and pushed her chair backwards. "I'm going for a walk."

"Don't walk away from me."

"I'm not. I'm just going for a walk. I just need some time to think, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. But take your cell phone okay? Call me if you need anything."

"I will."

-xxxxxx-

About 45 minutes later Luke found Lorelai in the backyard of their house. She looked up at him when she heard his footsteps. "Where's Lucan?"

"He's sleeping and Lane has the baby monitor downstairs so she can go up if she hears him."

"You didn't have to come after me. I told you I needed some time to think."

He sat down next to her. "I know you did."

"How did you know where to find me?"

"Babette called me."

She laughed. "Of course."

They stared at the house. "Amazing how fast it's going, isn't it. Before we know it we can move back in here."

"Yeah. It looks completely different already. I can see it will be really pretty. I knew I could trust you. I can't wait to see what it's going to be from the inside."

"Just be patient for a few more weeks. Tom's trying very hard to get it done as soon as possible."

"It would be nice to sleep in our own bedroom again. Although it won't be the same bedroom. It's just, I mean, there was a time I spent the same amount of nights in your apartment as I spent here, but I like living with you in this house. I like that it's our house now and not just mine and Rory's."

"Me too."

They watched the house in silence for a few more minutes. Luke stared at Lorelai occasionally and felt her staring back at him sometimes too. "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Why can't our lives be simple?"

He smiled. "You'd be completely bored."

"But couldn't it be excited in a different way? With Lucan starting to walk, with the twins coming, with the remodeling of the house, I think there's enough excitement in our house. And there's always the inn and I can't wait to see what will happen with Rory and Warren once the school year is over. So why, when my life is finally perfect, when I finally have the whole package, why is this happening? I don't understand."

"Me neither. But I guess that's the way life is. It's part of the package. My mother was happy. We were a great family but she had to die anyway. And so did my dad."

"And now the same will happen to my mother. I'm not ready to lose her yet. I know that I said the same last year, and I got to share so many great moments with her after that, but there are so many more I want to share with her."

"You'll get those moments. Even if the doctor tells your mother she has cancer tomorrow, she's going to fight it. You're mother is one of the strongest women in the world. We both know where you got it from."

"I'm not strong. Look at me. Look how I broke down today. I'm sure my mother didn't even cry."

"That doesn't mean that you're not strong. You're strong because you let go, because you let all those emotions out. It's not good to let it in, and trust me, I know. And it's different for your mother."

"How?"

"I was much more worried than my father was when he was sick. I don't know why. Maybe because I was just afraid to lose him, but he had the will to fight. And even in the end it was still harder for me. Even though he found it hard to leave me behind, to leave Liz and Jess behind, he wouldn't be in pain anymore. He was finally going back to my mother."

"You don't think she already gave up, do you?"

"No. You're mother won't give up without a fight. She just wants to be strong for you and your dad."

"Why does she feel like she has to be?"

"I don't know. But that's who she is. My dad did the same thing. But I know he cried at night, when he was alone. I heard him one night. And when I walked into his room to ask him if he was okay he wiped away his tears, not wanting to show me that he cried. He said he was fine and sent me back to bed. There was no room for me to protest."

"What did you do?"

"I listened to him and went back to bed. I realized that was what he wanted. He wanted to keep his dignity. He didn't want me to look at him differently so I didn't."

She swallowed. "What can I do to help my mom?"

"Just be there for her. Go to that appointment tomorrow and stand by her side. Let her show you what she needs and give her that."

She nodded. "Can you watch Lucan tomorrow?"

"Of course. Unless you want me to come with you, then we can ask Sookie to baby sit."

"You don't have to come. I think my mother wants Lucan with you."

"Just tell me if you change your mind, okay?"

"I will." She leaned her head on his shoulder and they remained silent for a while. At some point Lorelai stood up and pulled at one of Luke's hands. "Come on. Let's go home."

-xxxxxx-

When Emily heard Richards breaths even besides her, she slipped out of bed. She put on her bathrobe and slippers and silently left the bedroom. She went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea. With the cup in her hand she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. She didn't bother to put on any lights. She stared into the darkness, as she started thinking about the events of the day. When she felt a few tears slip down her cheeks, she put the steaming mug on the coffee table in front of her. She pulled her knees up against her chest and started sobbing.

Richard awoke and noticed Emily gone. He put on a bathrobe and walked down the stairs. He heard noises in the living room. "Emily?" He entered the living room and his heart broke when he saw the sight in front of him. Never did he saw his wife like this. She looked so broken and so scared. There were moments in her life when she lost control before, but never like this. He sat down next to her and pulled her against him while she cried against his chest. And it didn't took long before he felt tears burning in his own eyes, and he didn't try to hold them in.

T.B.C.


	19. The results

_A/N: Finally finally finally! I finally finished the next chapter. Man, it feels like it took me forever. How long has it been really? I lost count, that's how bad it is. But it doesn't matter now, I finished the chapter so you can finally read about Emily's biopsy results! It was harder to write than I thought, but I'm pretty happy how everything turned out and when I was reading it again I came up with a few ideas for the next chapter(s) so that's covered ;) All I need to do now is find some time to write it. But there's the train again on Sunday, because on Thursdays I mostly don't feel like writing after working all day. But then again, Sunday one of my coworkers will traveling together with me (I hope) and he had the week off so we have a lot of catching up to do ;) But yeah, the ride is long. It takes me 4 hours to get from my home to the place where I work. Which is why I'm living here part-time of course. Well, my rambling is keeping you from reading the chapter and you all know I'll find the time to write the next chapter anyway. No promises as to when, only that it's A.S.A.P. _

_Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed my last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one! (don't forget to let me know ;))_

**Chapter 19 The results**

The following morning Lorelai woke up even before Luke's alarm went off. She hadn't slept well that night and felt as if she hadn't slept at all. On top of that she felt nauseous, something she hadn't felt since her third month. She got out of bed and ran towards the bedroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

While she was throwing up, Luke kneeled down behind her and held her hair aside. When she was done, she leaned back against his chest.

He remained silent for a few minutes, but when she didn't spoke he asked "Are you feeling better?"

"Not really. I thought I was way beyond morning sickness."

He kissed her on top of her head. "I know."

"Man I'm tired."

"I felt you twisting and turning all night. Have you slept at all?"

"Not much." She admitted. "I just wish that I knew more you know. I just need to know the truth and what they'll do. If they can do something. I just need something to focus on."

"I know you do. All you can do is wait patiently."

She sighed. "I know."

"It'll be okay."

She shook her head. "You don't know that, now do you."

"No I don't. But you still have to hold on to that."

"I don't know if I can Luke."

"I know." He just held her for a few more minutes, knowing there wasn't anything he could say that would make her feel better.

-xxxxxx-

Emily felt Richard slip out of bed and decided to give him a few minutes, hoping he would just go to the bathroom and come back to bed. But when he didn't, she got out of bed and put on her robe. She checked the bathroom and when she didn't find him there, she went downstairs. He wasn't in the living room or in the kitchen, and she wasn't surprised to find him in his office. He was sitting behind his desk in his pajamas, his glasses on top of his nose and his hair all messy. Emily couldn't help but smile when she saw him sitting like that. He was focused on the monitor in front of him and hadn't heard her walk in. "Hey."

He looked up. "What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing? It's 5 o clock in the morning. Come back to bed."

"I couldn't sleep. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"That's okay." She walked up behind him so she could look on the monitor. "What are you doing?"

"I'm searching the internet."

"For what?"

"Information about breast cancer."

"Oh Richard." She pulled a chair next to his and sat down. "Don't do this to yourself. The doctor will tell us everything we need to know, okay? Let's just focus on something else until then."

"I can't Emily. I have to know what this can do to you. If it can…" He couldn't say it.

"Kill me." She finished his sentence, knowing perfectly well what he was thinking. "It can, but you shouldn't think about that. We don't even know if I have it."

"Maybe you can pretend like it's not there, but I know it is Emily. And I have to know the truth."

"I'm not pretending anything. I know that it is there. I saw the films Richard. But the truth is that we won't know the real truth until we talk to the doctor. We can drive ourselves crazy until then, but I just don't see the point."

"I have to do this."

"Fine. Do whatever you want. I'm going back to bed."

-xxxxxx-

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Luke and Lorelai were standing by her car a little after nine.

"Yes I'm sure. I need you to take car of Lucan for me, okay?"

"Okay. Just call me if you need anything. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I know. And I will."

"Good." He kissed her.

"I don't know when I'll be back."

"That's okay. Just be careful and drive safe. I'll see you when you get back, and you can always call me when you leave the hospital."

"Ok. Maybe I will." She kissed him once more. "Bye."

"Bye."

She got into the car and started it. She waved to Luke when she drove off. When she was just outside Stars Hallow she took her cell phone out of her purse and hit speed dial number 5.

"This is Emily Gilmore."

"Mom it's me. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Are you on your way yet?"

"Yes, I'm just outside Stars Hallow. I called to ask if I have to pick up you and dad."

"We can drive ourselves and meet you in front of the hospital."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Lorelai was silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to say further. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Not very well."

"Me neither. How's dad?"

"He's been in his office since 5 o clock, searching information about breast cancer on the internet."

Lorelai shook her head. "It's just his way of dealing with it."

"But why is he doing that to himself? I'm sure he'll find hundredths of horrible stories while we're not even sure if I actually have it."

"Maybe he'll find those stories, but there's a lot of positive information as well."

"Maybe. I just wish he would talk to me instead of what he's doing right now."

"That's just not dad. But I'm here if you want to talk. I have about 25 minutes before I reach the hospital and it's pretty boring in here anyway. There's nothing good on the radio."

Emily knew perfectly well that Lorelai had at least a dozen CDs in her car but appreciated the gesture. "I don't want to talk about this. Not until I know if there is something to talk about."

"We don't have to talk about that. We can talk about something else."

"How's Lucan?"

A big smile appeared on Lorelai's face. "He took his first steps yesterday. I was walking with him and when Luke kneeled down in front of him, I let go of his hands and he walked a few steps before he let himself fall in Luke's arms."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We did it 4 or 5 times. Of course it was only a few steps at the time, but he'll get better at it."

Emily smiled. "That's wonderful Lorelai. I can't wait to see him walk."

"It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

"I'm sure it is."

"And I looked at the house yesterday. It's going pretty fast. The outside is almost finished. I can't wait to see the inside."

"Before you know you can move back in. But Lorelai, I'm going to send your father upstairs to take a shower. I'll see you at the hospital soon, okay?"

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

After Emily hung up, she walked towards Richard's office. He was still behind his desk, looking the same as he did when she found him early that morning. "Richard you still have to get dressed."

"I'll go upstairs in a minute."

"We have to leave in 15 minutes. I want you to go upstairs now. I don't want to be late."

"I said I'm going soon."

She looked at him angrily. "I know you don't want to go, but the doctor will expect my husband to be there and you will be there. Lorelai is already on her way, in time for once and I don't want to be late because of you. You're going upstairs right now and take a shower."

"I never said I don't want to go. Of course I'm going."

"Fine. Then go upstairs now." She walked away without looking back, knowing he would do what she told him.

-xxxxxx-

"Mrs. Gilmore. Mrs. Danes." Doctor Wilson stood up and shook the hands of both woman. Then he turned towards Richard. "You must be Mr. Gilmore. I'm Robert Wilson. I examined your wife yesterday."

"Richard Gilmore."

"Sit down everybody." He waited until they were all seated. "I got the test results back earlier." He opened Emily's file in front of him. "As you know we did a biopsy yesterday. We sent the tissue to the pathology lab and they examined it under the microscope."

"And?" Lorelai didn't want to hear small talk. From the look on the doctor's face she already knew the truth. "She has cancer, doesn't she?"

Dr. Wilson stared directly into Emily's eyes, ignoring Lorelai's question. "The biopsy results show that you have an adeno carcinoma that is infiltrating the ducts."

"Cancer?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. The tumor is about 2 centimeters each way. We will treat it with surgery and the surgery will have to show if the cancer is spread to the lymph nodes. I arranged an appointment with a surgeon for you, who will explain everything to you. I will call her right now to inform her that you're on your way up. I'm sure that you have a lot of questions, and she will answer all of them."

"What's the name of this surgeon. I want only the best surgeon to take care of my wife." Richard looked at the doctor.

"She's very good at what she does. She operates on a lot of breast cancer patients and her success rate is very high."

"How high?"

"90."

"And there isn't another surgeon with a higher success rate?"

"She's the best we have in this hospital."

"And in other hospitals?"

"If my wife gets diagnosed with breast cancer, she's the surgeon I want to take care of her."

Richard looked at the doctor. "Fine. Call her."

-xxxxxx-

About ten minutes later they entered the surgeon's office. "I'm Sara Keaton."

"Emily Gilmore, and this is my husband Richard and my daughter Lorelai."

"Please sit down."

Lorelai looked at the surgeon. The woman wasn't much older than she was. She turned to look at her father and saw that he was thinking the same thing. She hoped that he would keep still and wouldn't start doubting her qualities again.

Just like Doctor Wilson had done earlier, doctor Keaton focused her attention on Emily. "As doctor Wilson told you, you have a tumor that's called an adeno carcinoma. I know that this won't mean anything to you, so you can just forget about this. The tumor has a diameter of 2 centimeters which is pretty small. This will give us two possible treatment options.

Because the tumor is small, we can remove the tumor only, together with some of the surrounding tissue. This means you will be able to keep the breast. After the surgery you will need radiotherapy, to make sure that there won't stay any malignant cells behind that can start growing again.

The other option is to remove the complete breast. If we won't find any malignant cells in the lymph nodes in your armpit, you won't need any further treatment.

No matter which surgical procedure you'll choose, we have to make sure that there are no metastasis in the lymph nodes in your armpit. This is the most common place for breast cancer to spread and from there it can spread further through the body. Only a few years ago they removed the lymph nodes preventively. After they were taken out, a pathologist examined them and if they found any malignant cells, there would be further treatment. But taking out the lymph nodes can come with a lot of complications. Therefore we don't do that anymore. We have this procedure called a sentinel node where we locate the first lymph node in the armpit. This node is called the sentinel node. We take out this specific lymph node during the surgery and send it to the pathologist while you are still on the table. When there are no malignant cells in this node, we can leave the other lymph nodes alone.

Emily tried to observe all the information but it was too much at once. She was still dealing with the fact that she has breast cancer, and now she has to think about which kind of surgery is best.

Lorelai looked at her parents and knew they were having trouble observing all the information. "What would you advice my mother to do? Why would she decide to have her breast remove when it's not really necessary? I mean, I assume it's not really necessary otherwise you wouldn't offer this option, right?"

"There are many different reasons why women decide to have a mastectomy."

Lorelai looked confused.

"A mastectomy is a fancy name for removing a breast."

She nodded.

"I can't tell your mother what she should do. A lumpectomy, where you remove only the tumor and not the complete breast, is much less invasive. But some women are scared that it's not enough." She turned back to face Emily. "I can't tell you what to do. You are the one that has to make this decision. All I can tell you is that the success rate of a lumpectomy in combination with a sentinel node and radiotherapy is very high. But if you have any reason why you want a mastectomy, then that's what we're going to do."

Emily nodded. "I don't know what is best."

"Let me give you some brochures with information. We'll schedule the surgery right now but I'll give you some time to think about what you want to do. We'll schedule an appointment within a few days from now where we can talk about what you want and how we're going to do it. Then you will also talk to an anesthesiologist and I want you to get a chest x-ray."

Emily nodded again. "That sounds good."

The doctor handed Emily some brochures which were already laying on her desk. "These are the brochures about the surgery and the sentinel node. And this is a form you have to fill in for the anesthesiologist. You don't have to fill it in right now, but just bring it to the appointment. There are questions about your medical history and your current life style. I'll walk to the reception right now to ask when they can schedule the surgery and then I'll come back so we can schedule the appointments." She stood up and walked away.

Richard was lost in his thoughts, while Emily looked at Lorelai. "What do you think?"

"I don't know mom. This is your decision."

"I know it is. But what would you do?"

"I don't know. I really don't know. You have to talk about it with dad and decide together."

Emily nodded, knowing that was true. Part of her had already made up her mind. If there was a chance she could keep her breast, she would take it. But if Richard would feel more confident if she had it removed, she would do that for him.

Lorelai didn't know what to say anymore. Fortunately for her she didn't have to think about it for long because Doctor Keaton came back.

She sat down across from the Gilmore family again. "There's an opening in the schedule Thursday next week. We will admit you on Wednesday afternoon. Then on Thursday morning you will first go to the nuclear medicine department for the sentinel node. And after that you'll go straight to surgery. I can't exactly tell you what time that will be because it depends on how soon we locate the sentinel node. Most of the time they can locate the sentinel node after 30 minutes, but sometimes it takes up to three hours. There is a lot of good information in the brochure and they will explain the whole procedure before they start the examination that Thursday.

Then, I also want to schedule an appointment this Friday at 2 o clock so we can talk about the surgery. About what you have decided to do and what you can expect after the surgery. I arranged an appointment with the anesthesiologist that same day at 2.30. You can go downstairs to radiology right now for the picture of your chest. But before you leave, do you have any questions?"

Emily shook her head. "I don't think so."

"And you?" She turned to Richard and Lorelai.

Richard, who had been silent the whole time, finally opened his mouth. "How old are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"You don't seem much older than my daughter."

Sara Keaton had dealt with situations like this many times. "I understand that you are worried about your wife and that you want the best surgeon to take care of. Maybe I'm not very old, but I've done this for quite some time now and an uncountable amount of times. I can promise you that I will do everything I can to take care of her."

"I'm just not sure if that's enough."

"I understand that sir. The truth is that I'm probably not the best surgeon in the country. But I do know that I am the best surgeon in this hospital, and probably even the best surgeon in this county. But I can't tell you that I have to be the one operating on your wife. If you can find someone else who you find more capable, then you have to take her there. But you have to keep in mind that there can be long waiting lists and that it's in your wife's best interest to operate as soon as possible."

Richard wanted to open his mouth again, but Emily silenced him. "Richard, that's enough. It's my body and I want this doctor to operate on me. I believe that she's good at what she does and I trust her."

Richard looked at his wife in shock. "I just want what's best for you."

"I know. And I believe that this is what's best for me." She turned to the doctor. "Thank you so much for what you've done for me already. I will think about which surgical procedure is best for me and come here Friday to discuss it. I want to thank you for finding a place in your schedule so soon."

Sara Keaton nodded. "You're welcome." She handed Emily a piece of paper. "You have to hand this over at the radiology desk."

"Thank you." Emily took the form and stood up, shaking the doctor's hand and soon Lorelai and Richard followed her example. They went to radiology where they had to wait only a few minutes before they could take Emily's chest x-rays and after that they walked towards the main entrance.

-xxxxxx-

"Do you want me to come home with you. We can have a cup of coffee or something. I know that I can't have coffee but you can have coffee and I can have something else. Tea, I can have tea."

"That's very sweet of you Lorelai, but I want to talk to your father alone."

"Are you sure? Luke's taking care of Lucan and they are doing fine at the inn without me and there's nobody else who needs me. Rory's in college and…" She paused, realizing that Rory knew nothing about this situation.

"I'll tell her later. I promise."

"Mom, she has a right to know. And you don't have to be the one telling her. I can tell her for you."

"I'll tell her. But there are some other things I need to take care of first."

"But the surgery is next week. You can't wait until after the surgery before you tell her. Besides, I'll talk to her before that and I know that I can't keep a secret from her. Especially not this."

"I will tell her before the surgery. I just need some time."

"But…"

"No. I want you to respect my opinion for once." Emily looked at her daughter as she raised her voice. "This is about me and my body and I want to tell my granddaughter. I have to tell her this and I want to do it my way. Do you understand?"

"Yes… but…"

"No. You're not telling her. I want you to go home to your husband right now so your father and I can go home and talk. I'll call you later."

"Fine." Lorelai turned around and walked towards her car, not looking back towards her mother. She was angry at her mother, not understanding why she didn't want to tell Rory right away. As if it would be easier if she waited. And Rory deserved to know the truth. She's 22 years old and about to graduate from college. She's an adult and perfectly able to handle it. She cursed inwardly as she walked towards her car and had trouble opening her door because she was too angry. Her hands were shaking and that made it hard to put the key in the lock. She knew she had to calm herself down, not only because she wouldn't make it inside her car, but also for the sake of her babies. Realizing that, it took her only a few seconds to control herself and to open her car door. She got inside and sat down, relaxing in her seat for a while.

-xxxxxx-

"Emily." When Lorelai walked away, Emily had stubbornly walked into the other direction, her pace fast and Richard had to run a few steps to catch up with her. She ignored him as she continued walking. "Emily."

She turned around suddenly. "What."

"Why did you yell at Lorelai?"

"Because her behavior was inappropriate. She can't tell me what to do."

"But she's right. You have to tell Rory."

"And I will tell Rory. But there are other things I need to take care of first. I'll tell her when I want to."

"But Lorelai is her mother. Why don't you let her tell Rory?"

"Because this is about me and it is my job to tell her. That's the way you handle situations like that. It's the only appropriate way to do it. Lorelai just wants someone to talk to and I already let her tell Luke so she can talk to him if she wants to talk to someone. I want to talk to Rory when I am ready for it."

"Emily." Richard sighed.

"We'll talk about it at home."

"Fine."

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai parked the car in front of the diner and walked inside. Luke looked up when he saw her and immediately turned to Lane. "I'm going to take Lorelai upstairs. You can call me if you and Jake need some help down here."

"I think we'll be fine for a while."

"Thanks." He moved his head towards the staircase to let Lorelai know they were going upstairs.

She nodded gratefully, as she remained silence until they reached the apartment. "I can't believe she won't let me tell Rory. She has a right to know. I can't keep this a secret from my daughter. I have to tell her. I'm going to call her, no matter what my mother says." She walked towards the phone and already had it in her hands before Luke stopped her.

"Lorelai, let's sit down for a minute okay?"

She turned to look at him. What?"

"Let's sit down and talk about what happened. I know something happened and I don't think calling Rory in the state you are in right now, is a good idea. This isn't news you want to give her over the phone."

She sighed. "Fine."

They walked towards the couch and sat down next to each other. "What did the doctor say?"

Lorelai looked in his eyes. "She has it."

"Oh Lorelai, I'm so sorry."

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, me too. But part of me already knew it. I wasn't even surprised. I guess I already got used to the idea."

"But still…"

"They're going to operate on her. She can choose if she wants to keep her breast or not. She asked me what I would do, but I can't even think about it. For me it would be totally different. I mean, I still need my breasts right? I still have to breast feed the twins for a few. But if I was her age… I really don't know. I think it's really weird if you have to miss a part of your body. But if it would save my life I would do it. It's just… she can choose and that makes it hard. I guess that if I had a chance to keep it I would, but if the risks are higher…. I just don't know."

"It's something your mother has to discuss with your father. It's not your decision to make, and let's hope it never will be."

"But it might. I guess that since my grandmother had it and now my mother has it, that there's a big chance that one day…"

"Don't think about that okay? I don't want you to think like that. If it…." He shook his head. "No, I don't even want to talk about it. We'll deal with it if it comes."

"But you have these tests…"

"What kind of tests?"

"I saw this program on TV once where they were talking about a DNA test. They can see if you have a higher risk of getting breast cancer in your genes. Like you have something different in your DNA or something."

"And then what? What if you know that you have that gene? Does it make any difference?"

"I don't know. Maybe…"

"Let's not talk about this right now. We have to focus on your mother right now and if you really want to get tested, we'll talk about it with a doctor later so he can explain what it really means and what the benefits are."

"Okay."

"Do you know when they'll operate on your mom?"

"Thursday next week. They'll do some sort of test that has something to do with the lymph nodes first, and then she'll go up to surgery. They're going to admit her on Wednesday afternoon."

"That's quick."

"Yeah, there was an opening in the schedule so she was lucky I guess. But the sooner the better, right?"

"Absolutely."

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them and stared directly into Luke's. "We were doing fine all the time we were in the hospital. We listened and talked to the doctors and we talked together. But when we left the hospital and I asked my mom if I could go home with them to drink some coffee it went all wrong…"

When she remained silent he squeezed her hand.

"I started rambling and realized that Rory doesn't know yet. I asked my mother if I should tell her, but she didn't want to hear any of it. She wants to tell her herself. But she doesn't want to do it right now. She started yelling at me Luke. I think it's wrong. Rory deserves to know the truth and it won't be any easier if she waits. She can't tell her next Wednesday saying 'guess what I'm going to do tomorrow.'"

"She'll tell her. Your mom just needs some time to deal with everything. She has to think about what she wants to do and she still has to process everything. She just needs some time to think how she's going to tell this to Rory. You know it will break her heart."

"I do. Rory loves her grandmother. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"I want to tell Rory myself because I want to be there for her. I understand that my mom wants to tell her, but it was hard enough that she had to tell my dad."

"Your mother can handle it. It will be hard but they'll find comfort in each other. And Rory will come to you too. She needs you, just like your mother needs you."

Lorelai's eyes filled with tears for the first time that day. "I'm just not sure if I can handle that. And if I can't, then how can my mom?"

Luke pulled Lorelai against him. "You will be there for each other. All of you. And I will be there too. I'm here for you now and I will be there for Rory. And for your parents for that matter. We're a family and we'll take care of each other."

Lorelai nodded as she silently cried against Luke's shoulder. After a minute or so she pulled away, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "Sorry."

"Don't be." He kissed her on her forehead. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

Lorelai put her head back on his shoulder. "I hope so."

T.B.C.


	20. The differences in life

_A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this sooner. Truth told, I finished this last Tuesday, but just didn't got to posting it. I feel pretty bad about it, but okay. Here it finally is! The weather was awesome this weekend so I've been outside most of the time. Today I went on a trip with an oldtimer all afternoon, which was a lot of fun, except for the horrible wind. I had to shower because my face was totally black of all the sand. And now I'm eating and typing at the same time to update this, then I have to pack my stuff and leave again. And that all with 20 minutes left ;) But yeah, it's all worth it._

_Thanks to those of you who read and reviewed the last chapter! And I really hope you like this one!_

**Chapter 20 The differences in life**

When Richard and Emily came home, Emily was still mad at Richard for not understanding her opinion on the Rory situation. She had given him silent treatment in the car, but knew they had a lot to talk about. "Do you want some tea?"

He nodded. "Yes please."

She walked into the kitchen, while Richard went into his office to check for messages. Emily filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove. She waited for the water to boil, when Sophia walked in. "Mrs. Gilmore. I can do that for you."

"That's okay Sophia. I can do it."

"I wouldn't mind."

"I know. But I can do it. Why don't you finish cleaning upstairs and leave after that."

"Oh no. You already sent me home early yesterday."

"I'm sure you have a lot to do at home. You can spend the afternoon with your daughter."

"My mother is looking after my daughter today. I really appreciate that you are willing to let me go home, but I can't afford to go home."

Emily suddenly realized why the maid wanted to stay. "You don't have to worry about the money Sophia. We're paying you just as much as we're paying you every week."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I just need some time alone with my husband."

"I understand. I'll go upstairs now."

Emily nodded. "I'll see you again tomorrow then."

"Thank you Mrs. Gilmore."

Emily smiled. "You're welcome Sophia." She knew Richard was in his office and decided to leave him alone with his messages until Sophia left. After she heard the front door close, almost half an hour later, she boiled the water again and filled two cups with tea. She put them on a tray and walked into the living room. She put the tray on the table and then walked towards Richard's office. She knocked on the door twice, before she entered the room.

Richard looked up. "Hey."

"Hey. I have tea ready in the living room."

"I'm coming."

"Did you have any messages?"

"Only about the Japan account. But I'll deal with it later. I think I can send someone else to Japan and hopefully they'll be able to safe the account."

"I'm so sorry you can't go now."

"I talked to Floyd and he understands. Maybe we can come up with a temporary solution and then I'll go to Japan a few weeks from now, when things are back to normal."

Emily doubted if things would ever be back to normal, let alone a few weeks from now, but wisely remained silent. They both sat down in the living room and stared at each other in silence for a few minutes, while sipping their tea. Emily was the first one to speak. "I'm sorry about earlier at the hospital. I was out of line."

"No, I was. You were right. You're the one that has to tell Rory and you have to do it when you feel ready to do so."

Emily smiled slightly. "Thank you. Do you think Lorelai is still mad at me?"

"I think she understands. Why don't you call her later to apologize?"

"I will do that." They were silent again.

"Emily?" Richard asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"I'm fine with whatever you want. It's your body and you have to decide what you think is best."

She shook her head. "I don't know what's best anymore. Part of me wants to keep the breast if there is a full chance of recovery, but part of me wants it gone."

He looked her directly into the eyes. "Why do you want it gone?"

"Because… it feels like my body is letting me down. There is this thing in my body that doesn't belong there. I'm just scared."

He took her hand in his and squeezed it. "I'm scared too."

Tears filled Emily's eyes when she heard Richard say those words. He was a man that was scared of nothing and it hurt to see that he was truly scared at this moment. She could see it in his eyes.

Richard pulled Emily against him. "You can let it all out."

"But I don't want to cry. I don't want any of this."

"I know. I know you don't." He hold her tighter as she started crying. He whispered words of comfort in her ear as he hold her tight.

When Emily composed herself, she pulled away from Richard. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and looked away. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I understand how you feel and you have to let it out. You have to promise me you won't hold it in."

She looked at him and saw sincerity in his eyes. "I promise."

He pulled her closer to him once again and kissed her on the top of her head. "Why don't we talk about this later. Why don't we think about what is the right thing to do?"

She shook her head. "No. I have to make a decision now."

"If that's what you want, that's what we're going to do."

"Thank you."

He sighed. "I've done a lot of research this morning, and a lot of women have breast retaining surgery with success. But you shouldn't keep your breast for me. You're beautiful to me no matter what."

Her eyes filled with tears once again at the honesty of his words. "I'm not beautiful. My body is completely scared and it will be only worse."

He shook his head. "Don't ever talk about yourself like that. I married the most beautiful woman I've ever seen many years ago, and every time I look at you, I'm still astonished by your beauty. You've only become more beautiful over the years, and there is nothing that can change that."

She had to swallow hard to keep herself from crying again. "That's the most beautiful thing you've ever said to me."

"I meant every word." He smiled and she smiled back. "This is your decision Emily. You have to do what you think is right."

She nodded. "When we were in the hospital this morning, I decided that I want to keep my breast, unless you would feel better if I have it removed."

"I'm okay with whatever you choose."

"I think I want to keep my breast. If the doctor says they can remove the cancer without removing my breast…"

"Then that's what we're going to do."

"Okay." He kissed her on the top of her hand and they stayed in each others arms for a long time.

-xxxxxx-

Rory woke up in Warren's arms the following morning. She smiled, as she opened her eyes slowly. She had a lot planned for the day, and knew he had an eight-thirty lecture. She lifted her head a little so she could look at the alarm. It was already nine. She sat up straight, pulling Warren with her. "Wake up."

He slowly opened his eyes. "Huh?"

"It's nine o clock. Your class started at eight-thirty."

"No use in getting up then." He lay back down and pulled a pillow on top of his head.

Rory pulled the pillow away. "Warren."

"What?"

"We have to get up."

"It was really late last night, and I already missed my class anyway. They won't let me in if I'm 45 minutes late. My next class isn't until 10.30 so we have more than enough time."

"But…"

He sat up and kissed her. "Will you just shut up and get back to sleep."

"No. Maybe you can afford it to miss classes and to sleep in, but I have a lot of work to do today."

"Come on. Five more minutes." He lay back down and pulled Rory down with him.

"Warren please."

"Rory please." He used the same tone she did, just to tease her.

"Come on. I have so much stuff to do before graduation."

"Graduation is not until June."

"And it's almost May. I'm the one seriously thinking about a future here. You don't even know where you're going to be next year." She regretted the words right after they came out of her mouth. "I know you're seriously thinking about it. I'm sorry."

"I am seriously thinking about it." He got out of bed and walked towards Rory's desk where he picked up his backpack.

"What are you doing?"

"Showing you how much I thought about our future."

Rory raised her eyebrows. "What do you have in there? A permanent green card?"

He smiled. "Something like that." He took something out of his backpack, making sure Rory didn't see it. Then he climbed back in bed with Rory, holding his hands behind his back.

"What do you have there." She tried to grab his arms.

He smiled as he sat down on his knees. "From the first moment we started dating, I've thought about our future. I knew you had to go back to America and for me this was the perfect opportunity to come with you. I know that the year is almost over and, and that technically I have to go back to England, but I don't want to. I want to finish my school here, at Yale."

Rory smiled. "Really?" She worried about this a lot, and even though they never really talked about it, she knew he was too.

"Absolutely. There's no place in the world I would rather be. I love you Rory Gilmore."

"I love you too." She placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Then marry me." He showed her the ring he was holding behind his back.

Rory's eyes filled with tears. "What?"

"Rory Gilmore. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes."

He slipped the ring on her finger and then kissed her like he never kissed her before.

They had to pull away after a few minutes, when there was a knock on the door. "Just a second." Warren kissed her again. "We'll continue this later. We have to see who's at the door." There was another knock. "Yeah yeah, I'm coming. Be patient a little" Rory got out of bed and slipped into her robe when Warren lay back down in bed, pulling the sheets up to his chin. Rory opened the door and was surprised to see her grandmother standing on the other side. "Grandma."

"Why aren't you dressed yet?" Emily was surprised that Rory was still in her robe.

"We overslept. And then Warren distracted me a little. Look." She showed Emily her hand. "Warren asked me to marry him and I said yes. He's going to stay in America with me and we're getting married." Rory squealed.

"Congratulations Rory." Emily pulled her granddaughter into a hug.

"Just promise me that you won't tell mom okay? I really want to tell her myself."

"I promise."

"Well, I'm being completely impolite here. Please come in."

Emily followed Rory into the living room of the small apartment, when Warren just came out of the bedroom. "I heard congratulations are in order."

Warren looked at Emily shy. "I hope that you're okay with me marrying your granddaughter. I promise that I'll do everything possible to take care of her."

"I know you will. Now, why don't you leave me and Rory alone to talk?"

"Of course. I have to go to the library to check on a few things before my class starts anyway." He walked back into the bedroom for his backpack, then put his coat on and kissed Rory goodbye. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." Rory kissed him once more. When Warren closed the door behind him, Rory turned to her grandmother. "What are you doing here this early? I'm sure you didn't came just to see how I'm doing."

Emily swallowed as she realized she had to break her granddaughter's heart and was about to ruin one of the best days of her life. "It was nothing. I can come back later."

Rory looked at her grandmother. "There's something. I can see it. Why don't we sit down and I'll make some coffee, and then you tell me what it is."

"It can wait. I don't want to ruin your perfect day."

"What do you mean, ruining my day? You're scaring me grandma."

"You're to intuitive for your own good." Emily sat down on the couch and motioned for Rory to sit down next to her.

"What is it?"

"I don't know how to say this." She shook her head. "I had mammography pictures taken two days ago. They found something…"

Tears filled Rory's eyes as she sensed what was coming next. She took her grandmother's hand in hers and squeezed it lightly to let her know that she was ready.

"I have breast cancer Rory. But they caught it early and I can have breast retaining surgery in combination with radiotherapy."

Rory swallowed as tears filled her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"There was a lot I had to discuss with your grandfather first. Your mother offered to tell you, but I told her I wanted to tell you myself. Don't be mad at her, okay?"

Rory nodded through her tears. "When is the operation?"

"Thursday next week."

"That's quick."

"I was lucky that there was an opening in the schedule. It's going to be okay, I promise."

Rory nodded again. "Okay." She had so many questions but had trouble getting the words out. The big lump that formed in her throat made it hard for her to talk.

Emily pulled Rory against her. "I'm so sorry I ruined your day."

Rory shook her head. "No. You didn't. It's okay."

"No it's not."

Rory tried to control herself and when she finally did she pulled away from her grandmother and looked in her eyes. "You didn't ruin my day. I promise. You already waited too long to tell me. I just… why did you went to the doctor to have the x-rays taken? I mean, did you feel something?"

"No. But my mother died of breast cancer when she was only a little younger than I am now, and your mother thought it was a good idea that I had myself checked out."

"So if it wasn't for her…?

Emily nodded. She wasn't planning on telling the complete truth. If Lorelai wanted to tell Rory about the cyst they found in her breast, that was her decision.

Rory didn't know what to say anymore. All she wanted to do was talk to her mother. And she wanted to talk to Warren too. But she didn't want to send her grandmother away after what she had just told her. "Do you still want that coffee?"

"No. I have to get back to your grandfather."

"Are you sure? I make pretty good coffee. I mean, I learned from the best."

Emily smiled. "Your mother makes the most horrible coffee there is. It's much too strong."

Rory smiled too. "I guess it's a good think Luke doesn't allows her to give Lucan any coffee, or to drink it now that she's pregnant with the twins, otherwise they'd be just as bad as me. He tried saving me once he met me and my mom, but it was already too late."

"It's a good think he's in your mother's life now then." Emily smiled. "Will you come to dinner on Friday?"

"Absolutely. Warren and I will be there at 7. You know, you can tell grandpa if you want."

"Are you sure you don't want to tell him yourself?"

"I'm just a little afraid as to how he's going to react." Rory admitted.

"Don't be. He really likes Warren and he'd be very proud if you tell him yourself.

Rory nodded. "Then I will."

"Go to your mother okay, and tell her that I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"We had a small fight yesterday about who was going to tell you."

"Just call her. I'm sure she understands. But I'll tell her too, just in case."

"Good. Then I'll see you on Friday?"

"You'll see me on Friday." Rory hugged her grandmother. "I love you grandma."

"I love you too Rory."

-xxxxxx-

Warren was still in the library when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He left the books on the table and walked outside to answer the phone. He smiled when he saw Rory's name on the display. "Hello, my beautiful fiancée."

"Hey. Are you still in the library?"

"Just outside. I thought they wouldn't be too pleased with me answering my cell phone inside."

"I guess not."

"What did your grandmother want?"

Rory sighed. "I'd rather tell you in person. I want to drive to Stars Hallow to see my mom. Do you think we can meet each other for dinner?"

"Sure." He sensed something in her voice. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be after the way we woke up this morning."

He smiled. "Call me when you're on your way back here okay? Then I'll make sure dinner is ready when you come home. Are you in the mood for something yet?"

"You pick. I choose last night."

"Okay. Then I'll see you later."

-xxxxxx-

When Rory was just outside Stars Hallow, she called her mother, not knowing if her mother would be at work or at the diner.

"Hey sweetie."

"Hey. Where are you?"

"The inn. Where are you?"

"On my way to see you. I'm just outside Stars Hallow. I'll be there in about 5 minutes."

"Did grandma come to see you?"

"Yeah she did. She asked me to tell you that she's sorry."

"I'll call her later to apologize. Why don't we meet in the diner and talk over lunch?"

"Sounds good. So I'll see you in a few minutes?"

"Yeah you will."

Lorelai hung up her phone and dialed her mother's number after that.

"Emily Gilmore."

"Mom it's me. I wanted to say that I'm sorry about yesterday."

"I'm sorry too."

"You don't have to be. You were right. You were the one that had to tell Rory. Did she took it okay?"

"Yeah she did. Did you talk to her yet?"

"She's on her way to see me now. I'm meeting her at the diner in a few minutes. Have you talked to dad yet?"

"Yes I did. We've talked about what is best and I decided to keep my breast."

"That's good mom. I think that's the right decision."

Emily was silent for a few seconds, then said "Thank you Lorelai."

"For what?"

"For everything. If it wasn't for you…"

"Don't say that okay."

"Okay. Now go to Rory. She needs."

"I will. I'll call you later, or maybe I'll stop by with Lucan in the afternoon. I mean, if that's okay with you."

"I would love that."

"Then you'll see me later."

Lorelai hung up and stood up, putting on her jacket in one quick motion. When she entered the lobby, Michel looked up immediately. "Don't tell me you're already leaving."

"I'm meeting my daughter for lunch and then I'm going to Hartford to see my mother. I'll be back tomorrow."

"I see. And we'll do all the work around here. No problem."

"Glad to hear that." Lorelai ignored Michel's sarcasm and left the inn without saying goodbye to Sookie. When she got in her jeep, she dialed the number of the kitchen instead.

"This is Sookie."

"Hey Sook, it's me. I'm on my way to see Rory at Luke's and go to my mom after that. Michel said he's okay on his own, but Claire is there too."

"Sure. Take all the time you need okay? You don't have to come in tomorrow if you don't want to."

"I appreciate the offer, but I will come in. I'll see you tomorrow okay?'

"Okay."

-xxxxxx-

Luke looked up when the bell rang and smiled when he saw his stepdaughter walk in. He noticed the expression on her face like the one he'd seen on Lorelai's for the past two days. He walked around the counter and took her in his arms. "Hey." He placed a kiss on top of her head. He tried to pull away, but she kept her arms around his waist. "You're mom is at the inn."

"She's coming here soon." Her voice was muffled because she was talking into his chest.

"Why don't you go upstairs and wait for your mom?"

"I want to stay here."

He took her hands from behind his waist and pulled away from her, feeling a little uncomfortable talking to her while she was holding him so tight. "This isn't the best place for the two of you to talk. Lunch rush will start soon and the place will be crowded. You can talk quietly upstairs."

She shook her head lightly.

"I'll make you burgers and chili fries."

Rory smiled. "Throw in a large cup of coffee for me and you got yourself a deal."

He nodded. "Okay."

Rory sat down at the counter when Luke walked behind it and filled a large cup with coffee, placing it in front of Rory, then he turned around to turn in the lunch order. When he focused his attention back on Rory, she looked him in the eye. "I don't understand why they waited two days to tell me."

"Your grandmother needed some time to process it all. Your mother wanted to tell you, but she respected your grandmother's wishes for once."

"I just… I could have been there for her."

He shook his head. "There was nothing you could have done. Your mother went to the doctor's appointments with your grandma, but after that she wanted to be alone with your grandfather and your mom came home."

"I could have been there for mom."

He took Rory's hand in his, giving it a squeeze. "Rory, I know that this is hard. But they made a choice and you have to respect that. Your mom's doing okay."

"And she has you."

"Of course she does."

"But I'm her daughter. I have to be there for her too. They don't have to protect me. They don't…"

"They know that. They told you as soon as they could. Your grandmother just needed a little time. But you have more than enough time to be there for her now. And now your grandmother is asking for that so please, don't be mad but just do as they want."

Rory nodded. "I will. Thanks Luke."

He nodded. Rory picked up her cup and sipped her coffee. Luke stared at Lorelai and noticed the ring on her hand. "What is that?"

She put the cup on the counter. "What's what?"

"That ring on your finger."

Rory played with her ring, as a smile appeared on her face. But before she had a change to answer Luke's question, Lorelai walked in.

Lorelai had been standing outside the diner for a while, observing Luke and Rory through the window. She noticed how Rory had played with her finger after Luke asked her something. She couldn't hear what was said, but knew from what she saw, that it was time to get in. "What is that?"

"What is what?"

"Show me your hand."

Rory showed her left hand to her mom. "I don't see anything special, besides the nail I broke yesterday."

"No, your right hand."

Rory started smiling. "You mean this?" She pointed her hand towards her mom, who started squealing.

"When did this happen?"

"This morning. We overslept and while I wanted to get out of bed, Warren wanted to stay in bed because he already missed his first class anyway. I started rambling about the future and he got out of bed, got something out of his backpack and back in bed he just proposed to me, saying he wants to stay in America and spends the rest of his life with me."

Lorelai pulled her daughter in a hug. "That's great sweetie. I'm so happy for you."

Luke walked around the counter and when Lorelai let her daughter go, he pulled her into a hug as well. "Congratulations Rory."

"Thanks."

Both women sat down at the counter so they could talk, when Luke went back to his usual spot behind it.

After talking about the proposal for a few minutes, Rory's tone suddenly changed. "Mom?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"I feel so bad that I'm happy about this. It's the first thing I told grandma when she showed up at my apartment this morning, and I just…"

"It is something to be happy about sweetie. Even when bad things happen, it's good to have good things happen as well. It's because of the good things, we can manage to get past the bad things."

"Maybe." Rory wasn't convinced just yet.

"Two days ago when I came back from the hospital I was really sad about what happen. Grandma had the pictures taken and they saw something. They did an ultrasound and took a biopsy, and we had to wait until the following day for the test results. I was so upset because I was afraid that she had it, and part of me knew she did, but part of me also refused to accept that. But after I cried for a while, I took Lucan in my arms and we started playing. I put him on the floor so he could walk around, and when Luke kneeled down in front of him, I let go of his hands. He took his first steps. He walked. And I forgot about all the bad things. That moment grounded me and brought me back to reality. And Warren staying and the two of you getting married, it's just like that."

"How?"

"Because it reminds all of us that our live will go. That we have something to look forward to. That we have a reason to get past this."

"But grandma…"

"Let's be honest with you. It won't be easy. The surgery will be hard and the time after that will be even harder. Radiotherapy will exhaust your grandma and take a big part in her life. But I know she's happy for you and that she's really proud at you. And maybe it's weird these things happen at the same time, but that's how close happiness and sadness are."

Rory smiled. "You're being philosophical."

"Yeah well, I got that from you." Lorelai smiled now too. "But seriously, it will be okay. We have to believe in that. We're lucky they caught it early and they're going to do everything possible to make your grandmother better."

Rory nodded. "That's good."

"And we have to be there for her, but grandma wants us to go on with our own lives too. Like you have to focus on graduating and Warren and I have the inn and the house and the twins. And of course Luke and Lucan."

"I'm just not sure how to do all that."

"I believe it will work out by itself. Just do what you feel is right and grandma will tell us when she needs us or when she needs to be alone and we'll have to listen to that."

"That's going to be hard for you."

Lorelai smiled. "Yes it will be, but we've done this last year and we can do it again this year."

Rory nodded. "We're in this together, right?"

"Right."

Luke watched his two girls from a distance and smiled, proud at how they handled the situation. He knew the next few months wouldn't be easy on them, but he also knew that they would all get through it, as a family.

T.B.C.


	21. Day of the surgery

_A/N: Sorry it took me a while to update. Time goes way to fast. I've had a few very busy weekends, which is a lame excuse I know. But I finally took the time to write, starting when I was on the train Monday morning. I was actually planning on writing something for my internship paper, but realized I sent it to my email but forgot to copy it to my laptop. So I spend my time very useful making a big start on this chapter, and used the following evenings to finish it.  
I jumped about a week in time compared to the next chapter. As the title tells, this is the day of Emily's surgery. Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter, and don't hesitate to let me know what you think of this one!_

**Chapter 21 Day of the surgery **

"Good morning Mrs. Gilmore."

Emily slowly opened her eyes, not recognizing the room she was in. She turned on her right side to see if Richard was still in bed, but found out that the bed was too small to fit him in. She turned to her other sides and looked in the eyes of a nurse.

"Good morning Mrs. Gilmore. How are you feeling this morning?"

Emily blinked a few times and realized she was in the hospital. Before she had the chance to say something, the nurse continued chatting. She was way too bright so early in the morning.

"It's a big day for you isn't it? You must be nervous. Your husband and your daughter will stop by before they take you to the nuclear medicine department. You have enough time for a shower, since you can't have breakfast or something like that. Would you like that?"

Emily nodded slightly. "A shower would be nice."

"Do you want me to lay down some clothes for you to wear?" She walked into the direction of Emily's closet.

Emily was suddenly awake. She sat up and stared at the nurse in disbelief. "I'm perfectly capable of doing that myself, thank you."

"Well, someone's a little cranky this morning."

Emily just shook her head. It was too easy to comment. All she did was hoping that she had another nurse to take care of her the rest of her stay in this hospital. And if she didn't, she would make sure that she had.

The nurse stared at Emily, realizing she wouldn't get a conversation out of her. "Fine. I'll leave you alone to shower. Your husband should be here in about 30 minutes."

Emily nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." And with that she turned around.

Emily sighed in relief. "I can't believe that woman." She murmured under her breath. She got out of bed and walked towards the closet. Opening it, she took out a pair of satin pajamas and some clean underwear. Then she took her toiletries out of the drawer and walked into the shower.

When the hot water hit her shoulders five minutes later, she felt some of the tension release. She remained in the shower for almost fifteen minutes, thinking back on the previous week. In a way it had been a good week. Lorelai stepped by with Lucan every day, and Luke tagged along a few times as well. Rory and Warren visited on Saturday evening to tell Richard about the engagement, and to check up on her. Emily had found it hard to keep the engagement a secret from him, because she was trilled. From the first moment she met Warren, she liked him. And even though he does not come from a good family, he's very serious and it's obvious that he loves Rory very much. And over the years Emily realized that's all that really matters.

Richard too, was very pleased to find out about the engagement. He offered to pay for the wedding and to help them find a place to live next year. Rory replied that it wasn't necessary, but when he pressed a little, Rory agreed to let him pay half of the wedding.

Those thoughts made Emily forget where she was, but when she turned off the water and changed into pajamas instead of normal clothes, thoughts on the upcoming surgery were inevitable. Even though she decided to just let it all happen, she was scared of the outcome of the surgery, and the radiotherapy that would follow. She knew what her mother had been through years ago, and it was hard to believe she was about to go through the same now. But things had changed within time. She knew she had a better chance than her mother ever had. The techniques were better, and they caught the cancer early. Even though there was enough to be scared about.

When she walked out of the shower, she was glad to see that both Richard and Lorelai were waiting for her. Emily walked towards Richard first and let him take her in his strong arms. For the first time that day she felt really safe, and wished she could stay there for the rest of her life, and make everything else go away.

Lorelai watched her parents and was happy they found comfort in each other. Since she got together with Luke, she knew how much a simple hug meant and how safe it could make you feel. She wished he was with her now, and would take her in his arms and make everything go away. But he had to take care of Lucan, while she had to be there for her mother. She was glad to be there though. Even more when Emily finally let go of Richard, and pulled Lorelai in a hug. Never before meant a hug with her mother so much. No words were necessary, they simply understood each other.

Lorelai couldn't help but smile when Emily finally released her and was happy to see a smile on Emily's face as well. For a few moments she remained silent, but then had to ask. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. I don't think you can ever be completely ready for something like this."

Lorelai nodded, understanding.

They stayed together in Emily's room until a nurse came to get them. Lorelai talked about Lucan and how his walking improved every day. And Emily complained about the nurse that had woken her up that morning. Richard promised he'd make sure she would never see the woman again.

-xxxxxx-

They were sitting in the waiting room at the nuclear medicine department. They had been waiting for only a few minutes, when someone came to get them. "Mrs. Gilmore?"

All three of them stood up and followed the woman. She stopped in front of a changing room. "Hi, my name is Linda."

"Emily Gilmore, and this is my husband Richard and my daughter Lorelai."

She turned to face Richard. "You can't go in the exam room with your wife. I have to ask you to wait in the waiting room. The examination will take about 45 minutes."

"I understand."

She turned to face Lorelai then. "I would advice you to go home."

"What why? Why can't I wait with my father? I promise I'll be good."

Linda looked at her confused, then she understood. "It's not like you're not allowed to wait with your father. Of course you are, and I can understand that's what you want to do. But we're going to inject your mother with a little bit of radioactivity and you're pregnant. It's not like it could harm the baby or something, but if it's not necessary we don't like to expose children to radiation. The dose is very low and sometimes, if we really have to, we'll do examinations on pregnant woman or babies as well. But it's just like an x-ray. We prefer not take an x-ray of you right now either."

Lorelai nodded. She turned to her mother. "I would really like to wait here."

"I understand that Lorelai, but I want you to go home. I don't want my grandchildren exposed to something they shouldn't be exposed to. Their health is much more important."

"But she said it can't harm them."

"But she still advices you to go home, and that's what I want you to do. I really appreciate everything you've done for me Lorelai. But right now you have to choose for yourself and the babies. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Lorelai nodded and before she realized it her eyes filled with tears. "But I don't want to say goodbye yet."

Emily took Lorelai in her arms. "We're not saying goodbye. You can come to visit me in the afternoon, after the surgery."

Lorelai nodded as a few tears escaped from her eyes. Emily kissed Lorelai's forehead. "I love you Lorelai. And I'll see you this afternoon." Looking directly into her eyes she asked. "Okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She hugged her mother once more. "I love you too mom."

Richard put an arm around his daughter, then gave Emily a quick kiss without saying anything. She mouthed 'thank you' when he lead Lorelai towards the waiting room.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai followed her father into the waiting room. She took a few minutes to compose herself and wiped at her eyes. "I'm so sorry dad."

He pulled his daughter in a hug. "Don't be. Your mother understands."

"It's just… I thought we had a little more time you know."

"You have so much time left with her Lorelai. You'll see her again this afternoon."

"I know that, it's just…" She was frustrated she couldn't explain how she was feeling.

Richard, however, understood perfectly how she was feeling. Even though he could stay with her until the surgery, he had to leave her alone at some point and knew he wouldn't be ready for that no matter what. "I know. I know."

"Do you want me to stay with you for a while? I mean, just before mom comes out or something?"

"No. This is no place for you to be right now."

Lorelai knew he was right. "Are you waiting in here when they take mom into surgery?"

"I was planning on going home."

"Why don't you come to Stars Hallow? I'll be at Luke's all day. We can wait together."

"I'd like that Lorelai."

"Just call me if you need anything okay. And if you call when you're about 10 minutes away from the diner, I can make sure Luke has a burger ready for you when you get there."

He smiled. "Maybe I will."

-xxxxxx-

Luke looked up when he heard the bell ring. He was surprised to see Lorelai enter the diner. "Hey, why are you back so soon?"

Lorelai sat down at one of the stools. "They kicked me out."

"Who? Your parents?"

"No, at the hospital. They were injecting my mom with some kind of radioactivity and said it wouldn't be good for the babies."

He studies his wife and saw she was sad that they made her leave. "I'm sure your mother understands."

She nodded. "I know that. I just…"

"I know." He took her hand in his and squeezed it.

She sighed. "Pfffff…" Then she put her head on the counter. "It just sucks."

Luke smiled slightly. "Yeah it does." When she looked up at him, he saw how tears had filled her eyes. He walked around the counter and took her in his arms. "She's going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay."

Her voice broke. "I know."

"It's okay." He whispered as he hold her tight. "It's okay."

Lorelai remained in his arms, even after she calmed down. It wasn't until she heard Lucan calling her several times, when she let him go. She smiled through her tears as she walked to the playpen. She picked up her son and hold him against her. "Hey buddy."

"Mama."

She turned to face Luke who was smiling at her. "He wants to comfort you too. He doesn't like to see his mommy all sad."

"I'm glad. I just hope he remembers that when he gets older so he'll never break my heart."

He shook his head. "Don't even go there."

She laughed out loud. "You know there's a chance right, when he gets older and starts to get his own opinion. Think about when he's 18 and desperately wants a motor cycle."

"He's never going to get one. No matter how hard he begs."

"But then he gets a job so he can buy one himself."

"Not happening." He walked to Lorelai and took Lucan out of her arms. "You hear me, you're never going to get a motor cycle."

Lucan put his head on Luke's shoulder. "Dada."

"See, he's begging you already."

"No he's not." He kissed the top of his head. "He's just being a good boy trying to prevent his father from having nightmares."

"Well, since he's only a year old I guess we don't have to worry about all the things he wants when he's turning 18. But I'm telling you, I already got lucky once so I'm sure one of our kids will turn out the opposite. If it's not him, it'll be one of the two little once in here."

He shook his head. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Make my kids seem bad even before they're born. You can't do that."

"Sorry, I'm just saying…"

Lucan started to fuss so Luke put him on the floor. The little boy crawled to one of the stools where he pulled himself in a standing position. He started walking to the stool next to it.

"It's already starting."

"What is?"

"All of them are starting to protest. Lucan by showing you that he's on his own feet already, that he doesn't need us as much as he used to, and these two in here, by kicking me."

Luke's eyes started shining. "They're kicking?"

She took a few steps towards him and took his hand and placed it on her stomach. "You feel that?"

He nodded. "Wow."

"I know." Then she moved his hand to the other side of her stomach. "And this is the other one. I swear that they're fighting in there."

Luke was too amazed to respond.

She smiled. "You're acting like you haven't felt that before. You felt Lucan kick so many times when I was pregnant with him. I mean, you remember that time when he…"

He silenced her with a kiss. "Don't even go there again."

She laughed out loud. "You should have seen your face. I've never seen you get off me so fast."

"I thought I was hurting him."

"Oh no, you were definitely not. He was just mad that I got all the attention. Which actually proves my point."

"How?"

"He was already a rebel when he was in my stomach. Just think about how it's going to be when he grows up."

Luke shook his head and stared at his son. The boy was sitting on the floor, sucking two of his fingers. "I can't believe you're seriously thinking that. Just look at him."

Lorelai smiled when she saw him. "Maybe you're right. I guess only time will tell."

"A lot of time." Luke stated, and there was nothing Lorelai could bring in against that.

-xxxxxx-

Richard looked at his watch for the fifth time in ten minutes. He sighed, wondering what took them so long. Emily had been in there for more than 50 minutes already, even though they said it would only take 45. He was afraid something went wrong or that they couldn't find whatever it was they were looking for. He stared back at the magazine and tried to focus on the words. But he knew there was no use. He'd been trying to read the same page for the past half hour, without success. He was glad Lorelai asked him to come to Stars Hallow later, because if he was already feeling this way now, he couldn't even try to imagine how it would be when Emily went into surgery.

After what seemed like forever, Emily finally appeared in his sight. He stood up immediately. "And?"

"It went fine."

He sighed in relieve. "I'm glad. What's going to happen next?"

"The doctor is going to call dr. Keaton to tell her that I'm ready for surgery. We're supposed to go back to my room and they'll come and get me when she's ready."

"Okay. Let's go." He took her hand in his and together they walked back to Emily's room.

One of the nurses was already waiting for them when they arrived. "Doctor Keaton is ready for you in about half an hour."

Emily was happy she didn't have to wait long. "What's going to happen now?"

"You have to change in the operation gown, and I'm going to give you some medicine to help you relax. Transport will be here in about 15 minutes to take you to the operating room, where the anesthesiologist will explain to you what happens after that."

It all went a lot faster than Emily thought, and before she knew it the guys from transport where there to pick her up.

"Can I come with you?" Richard looked at the two man.

"You can walk with us for a little while."

He was glad he could hold off saying goodbye a little longer. He held Emily's hand when they wheeled her bed towards the operating rooms. They stopped in front of two big doors.

"This is as far as you can go sir."

Richard nodded. He looked at Emily. "I promise I'll be there when you wake up."

She smiled slightly and placed a hand on his cheek. "You better be."

"I love you Emily."

"I love you too Richard. Promise me you won't worry to much."

"I promise." Even though he knew it was a lie, and she knew it too.

"Keep an eye on Lorelai okay? She shouldn't worry too much. It's not good for the babies."

"I'll promise I'll take good care of her."

"Good."

He kissed her. "See you in a few hours."

After one more kiss, the transport guys opened the door and pushed Emily's bed through the door opening. Richard watched her until the doors closed, then turned around and walked outside. In a way it was easier than he imagined it would be. Emily was so calm and that gave him confidence that everything would be okay.

-xxxxxx-

It was a little before lunch rush when Lorelai's cell phone went off. She answered quickly and for once Luke didn't tell her to go outside. "Dad?"

"I'm 10 minutes outside Stars Hallow. You told me to call you."

"Yeah I did. I'll make sure Luke has the burgers ready when you get here."

"Sounds good. Just promise me that you'll never tell your mom."

"I promise. How was she?"

"She was okay. It all went quicker than we thought. But I'll tell you when I get there, okay?"

"Okay, see you soon." She put her cell phone back in her purse. "My dad's on his way."

"I heard. I already gave Caesar the order."

"Thanks."

When 5 minutes later, the bell rang, Lorelai expected to see her father. She was surprised to see Rory and Warren enter the diner instead. "What are you doing here?"

"We wanted to wait with you. Is grandpa coming too?"

"He's on his way. Should be here any minute." She walked towards Rory and enveloped her in a hug. "Thanks for coming."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Lorelai smiled, let go of her daughter and hugged Warren. "Thanks for being there for Rory."

"You don't have to thank me. We're all going to be a family so we're in this together."

Lorelai pulled away and looked him in the eyes. "It doesn't matter when the wedding takes place. You're already family."

Warren smiled. "Thanks. It really feels that way. I forgot how it feels to have a family until I met you."

She shook her head. "Don't say that. I'm sure your dad loves you."

"You've heard the stories Lorelai."

"I did. But you've heard the stories about me and my mother and look how we are now."

"I guess I can only hope that things will be better with my father one day. But I gave up hope a long time ago."

Lorelai gave him a sad smile. "No matter what happens, you're a part of our family now."

"That's all that matters." He put his arm around Rory and pulled her against him.

Lorelai smiled and turned around when she heard the bell ring. "Dad." She walked towards him and hugged him tight.

He put a hand on her back and waited until she was ready to let him go. "She's going to be alright."

Lorelai took a few steps back. "Let's all sit down. I'm sure Caesar has the burgers ready soon so we can all eat. Rory and Warren are here too."

Richard smiled, happy to have them all there. He looked at his granddaughter and her fiancée "Thank you for coming."

"There's no place in the world we'd rather be right now grandpa."

They all sat down, and as Lorelai predicted the burgers arrived soon. When Lucan started fussing in his playpen Luke took him out and sat down at the table as well.

"So dad, how was mom before you left?"

"She was doing better than I expected. She didn't seem nervous at all."

"I'm glad. So far everything went alright?"

"They found that lymph node without any problems. After that we went back to her room where a nurse was already waiting. Your mother had just enough time to change before they brought her to the operating room."

"I guess that's nice. Better than having to wait so long."

"Yeah. This way there wasn't much time to think. We've done enough of that the past few days."

Lorelai nodded. "Did they say how long it will take?"

"About an hour and a half."

"And what time did she went in?" She looked at her watch.

"About half an hour ago."

"They'll call your cell phone right?"

"They will. And they have your number in case they can't reach mine. And I also gave them the number of the diner as a third backup. Don't worry. Just eat because the burger is getting cold."

"Right."

They all ate in silence for a few minutes, until the diner bell disturbed that. They looked up and saw how Miss Patty and Babette entered.

"Look at that. The whole Gilmore-Danes family together. What a beautiful sight." When they looked better, they saw Emily was missing. "Lorelai, where's your mother?"

Lorelai stared into Luke's eyes for a few seconds before focusing on the two women. "She can't be with us right now."

"Why not?"

Luke stood up before Lorelai had the chance to reply, handing her Lucan in the process. "Ladies, the diner is clothed. I have to ask you to come back tomorrow."

"What? The door was open."

He walked towards the door and changed the sign to 'closed.' That's just because there are people inside and the fire department demands a fast exit just incase. But the sign says closed so I'm closed."

"You were open just minutes ago. They have food and we're hungry."

"I'm sure Weston's open, and otherwise go to Al's or get some pizza at Joe's. And if you don't want any of that, go to the Dragonfly where I heard they serve the best lunch in town." He heard Lorelai chuckle at that. "And if you don't want any of that, honestly I don't care. Make your own lunch for a change."

The two women stared at him in shock. "Why is the diner open for them but not for us."

"Because they're my family."

"But Luke, you live in Stars Hallow. We're all family. Just think about poor Kirk who will show up any second now."

"Get out." He raised his voice and was tired of having to explain.

"Fine." The women left and Luke locked the door behind him.

"I thought the fire department didn't allow that?" Lorelai looked at him when he sat back down.

He shook his head. "Don't even think about it."

She just kissed him instead.

-xxxxxx-

After Miss Patty and Babette left, other townies showed up outside the diner wondering why it was closed. After a while Luke just closed the blinds, knowing that they would give up eventually. They had been sharing stories about Emily. And even though Warren only met her a year ago, he had some stories of his own.

"Dad. Do you remember the party mom threw for my seventh birthday?"

He shook his head. "Sorry."

"That's okay. She invited all the girls from my class. She had no idea I rather played with the boys and I hated most of the kids, and of course I didn't dare to tell her. There was a tea party with dolls and small tea cups…"

Rory smiled. "Doesn't sound like anything you would have liked."

Lorelai shook her head. "Mom was looking forward to that party for weeks. She planned it into details. All the girls were dressed up and I was wearing this pink dress. When mom was paying attention to some other kids, my friend Lea and I ran off. We went to the yard and found this beautiful tree. We figured that if we climbed in there mom wouldn't find us and we could hide for the rest of the party. I went in first and my dress got stuck. I kept pulling at the fabric and I had a big tear in it. Now I was just terrified that mom would find out because I knew she'd be so mad. I climbed higher and higher and Lea climbed in behind me. She got scared so didn't climb higher but I did. But one of my feet slipped away and I fell down. I managed to grab one of the branches but it broke and I fell on the floor. I broke my arm that day."

"I had never seen your mother so worried before. She sent all the kids home and called me from the hospital in tears."

"She never gave me a tea party again though." Lorelai smiled. "Sorry I had you guys worried." After a few seconds she added. "So many times."

"That's in the past now."

"Yeah it is. I'm glad to be where we are now."

"Me too." Rory added. "I was always curious about my grandparents as a kid. I only saw you on the holidays. I'm glad I really got to know you guys. You've done so much for me. I wouldn't have met Warren if it wasn't for you."

"How so?" Warren looked at her curiously.

"If they hadn't paid for Chilton, I'm sure I would have never gotten into Yale. And I most likely never would have gone to London to study so…"

"It's a good think I went to my parents that day then."

"Your mother was so happy. She never meant to force you to do anything, but she knew that if we'd just give you the money, you'd walk out of our lives again. That's why she wanted those Friday night dinners."

"I know. And even though I hated going there sometimes, I'm glad she invented them too."

Before Richard had a chance to ask her to explain what she meant exactly, his cell phone went off. They all looked at him with hope in their eyes. He took a deep breath before he answered. "Richard Gilmore."

"Hello, this is Lisa Mitchel. I'm a nurse at Hartford Memorial Hospital. I'm calling you to inform you that you're wife was just brought into the recovery room. The surgery went well."

"How about the tumor?"

"The surgeon will explain everything when you're here. All I can tell you now is that you're wife is alright and you can see her when she's brought back to her room."

"When will that be?"

"Approximately an hour."

"We'll make sure we're there."

Richard hung up and smiled. "She's okay. We can see her in an hour."

Without saying anything Lorelai stood up and walked to her father's side of the table, putting her arms around him. "I'm so happy to hear that."

He kissed her on the top of her head. "Me too."

-xxxxxx-

An hour later, Richard, Lorelai and Rory were in the hospital. Luke and Warren stayed behind to open the diner again and to take care of Lucan. Lorelai wanted to bring him at first, but Luke reasoned that a one year old would be too busy for her mother right after having surgery. She could always bring him tomorrow.

They walked towards the nurses station. "Hello, we're here to see Emily Gilmore."

"She was just brought back from surgery. She's still asleep but you can go in to see her. Just be quiet because she needs her rest."

"Thank you."

The three of them walked into Emily's room. Emily was lying in a big hospital bed. There was an IV in her left hand, and a tube hanging from her right side. Lorelai couldn't help but think about last year when Emily was fighting for her life in this same hospital. But the way she looked now was so much less scary.

They sat down next to Emily's bed without saying a word. They watched the rise and fall of her chest until she finally opened her eyes almost an hour later. She stared into Richards eyes and started smiling. "Hey." She whispered.

"Hey." He stood up to kiss her. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore."

He nodded. "Do you want me to get a nurse?"

She shook her head. "Don't leave."

"I won't. Lorelai and Rory are here too."

Emily turned a little and saw her daughter and her granddaughter. "Hey."

"Hey mom. I promised I'd be there when you'd wake up."

"Yeah."

They were all silent for a few minutes, not really knowing what to say and not wanting to exhaust Emily by making her talk. After a few minutes Richard stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Shhh.. I'll be right back. I'm going to see if I can find your doctor."

She just nodded.

When Richard left, Lorelai sat down closer to her mother.

"I'm so sorry Lorelai."

"For what?"

She stared at Lorelai's stomach and then looked up to face her daughter. "I know how you wanted a carefree pregnancy." She had to take a few deep breaths before she could continue. "I'm sorry that I put all this on you."

Lorelai took Emily's hand in hers. "Don't ever say that mom. The pregnancy doesn't matter. All that matters is that these two can grow up knowing their grandmother. Plus, no matter how much I wanted it to be carefree, it has never been. Not from the beginning. I guess that it's just not me."

Emily nodded. "I know. But still. I made it even worse."

"No mom. Of course I'm worried about you but don't ever blame yourself. I'm glad we found out now rather than later."

Emily nodded, then turned to look at Rory. "I'm sorry I ruined your engagement."

"Grandma, if mom says you can't blame yourself than all I can do is say the same thing. Nothing is ruined. I'm happy that I'm engaged and it gives all of us something to look forward to for when all of this is behind us. Just like the twins."

"Exactly." Lorelai added.

"I love you girls."

"And we love you too mom." Lorelai squeezed her hand. "Don't ever forget that."

"I won't."

-xxxxxx-

Richard came back with doctor Keaton a few minutes later. "Hello Emily, how are you feeling."

"Okay. Much better knowing that it's gone. I mean, it is right?"

She nodded. "I managed to get it all. I removed the tumor in your breast and the first results of the sentinel node are negative, which means that there are no tumor cells. They will look at it closer later and you won't get the permanent results until in about three weeks. But it looks very promising. You can focus on your recovery now."

"When can I go home?"

"In a few days. You have a drain in your chest and when we're able to remove that you're allowed to go home."

"Sounds good." Emily had to fight hard to stay awake. Dr. Keaton noticed this.

"I have some other patients I have to visit. Try to get some sleep. I'll come to check on you later."

"Okay."

Lorelai stood up and Rory followed her example. "That means we're leaving mom."

"No, please stay."

"I have to go to the diner because Luke has Lucan and the diner rush will start soon. But I promise I come back tomorrow and if you feel up to it, I'll bring Lucan. But if you're not, please tell me because then we just wait a few days."

"I want to see him."

"I know you do, but we have to focus on you getting better." She turned to her father. "Dad, I'm sure you're here before me. Why don't you call me to let me know whether you think it's a good idea to bring him or not."

"I will."

Lorelai and Rory left, leaving Emily and Richard behind. Richard sat down in the chair Emily was sitting before. "Close your eyes Emmy."

"I don't want to sleep."

"I know you don't. But why don't you close your eyes and I promise I'll do the same. I'll be sitting in this chair when you wake up."

"Promise?"

"I promise." He kissed her and then sat back in the chair, trying to find a comfortable position. When a nurse walked in 15 minutes later to check up on Emily, they were both asleep.

T.B.C.


	22. Check up

A/N: Not as fast as I hoped, but I wrote the whole thing on the train Sunday night. Had nothing better to do anyway. The trip itself was horrible. It's about 30 degrees outside in the shade so figure what it's like in the sun. And the train was chock-full and you couldn't even feel the air-conditioning. Not really the best idea to sit with a laptop that heats up, but yeah, I'm stubborn anyway. So I sat down and started typing and this is what I got! I hope you'll all like it :D Thanks to all who read and reviewed the last chapter. The chapter is mostly about Luke and Lorelai but there is a little part about Emily as well. Let me know what you think ;)

**Chapter 22 Check-up**

Lorelai was in the bathroom to dress herself after a shower. After putting on some underwear, she put on her pants. She pulled it over her hips and then reached for the zipper. She tried to pull it up, but no matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn't close. She tried the button after that, but her stomach got in the way. It was impossible to close the pants. She let out a frustrated yell.

"What's wrong?" Luke entered the bathroom, thinking something bad happened.

"My pants won't fit."

He raised his shoulders. "Pick another pair."

"But I wanted to wear this one. I bought it only three weeks ago. I can't believe I can't fit in anymore."

"It happens. The babies will only continue to grow the next few months and so will your stomach."

She shot him an angry look. "So you're saying I'm fat?"

He looked at her shocked. "What? Of course not. You're not fat. Your stomach is growing which is normal because there are two babies in there."

She looked in the mirror. "I wouldn't mind if it was only my stomach, but why does every part of my body has to swollen? Look at my face, and my hips and my boobs. I'm fat Luke." Tears filled her eyes.

"No, you're not. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

She shook her head. "That was before I got pregnant with Lucan."

"That's not true Lorelai. You're always beautiful. Look at you. You're carrying my babies."

She looked directly into his eyes as the tears were ready to spill. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." He walked towards her and kissed her hard. "I love you Lorelai." He wiped her tears away.

She smiled. "I love you too."

"Good. Now get dressed or we're going to be late for the appointment."

She nodded and walked out of the bathroom to get a different pair of pants. "This should do."

Luke shook his head as he watched Lorelai disappear in the bathroom again. He walked to Lucan's playpen. "Just prepare yourself. She'll only get worse."

The boy smiled and picked up one of his cars, handing it to his father.

"Thanks buddy." Luke smiled as leaned forward to kiss Lucan on top of his head. Then he handed the car back to the little boy and walked to the changing table where he started filling Lucan's diaper bag. He waited for ten minutes but when Lorelai still hadn't come out, he called her name. "Lorelai are you ready?"

"Just a sec."

"We're already running late."

"I know I know." She pulled her t-shirt over her head and looked in the mirror. She ran her hand through her hair and took one last look in the mirror.

"Lorelai."

"Yeah. I'm already here." She stepped out of the bathroom. "See, all set to go."

"About time." Luke took Lucan out of the playpen and they all went downstairs. "Lane?"

"Yeah boss?"

"I'm taking Lorelai to her doctor's appointment, and to her mother after that. I think I'll be back right before dinner rush."

"Sure, take your time."

They went outside, where Luke put Lucan in his car seat. Then he took the seat next to Lorelai.

"Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?" He replied, when he started the car.

"Do you think they can tell us the sex of the babies today?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Do you want to know?"

He looked at her. "What do you want?"

"I didn't know when Rory was born, and we didn't know with Lucan either, which was kind of nice. But I think it would be nice to know too."

"I don't know."

"It would be easier, because that way we don't have to pick out four names."

"Why would we need four names?"

"Well, because we can get two boys or two girls, or one boy and one girl. So we need 3 different combinations."

"I hadn't thought about that."

"Mmm… I did. But thinking how long it took us to pick a name for him, maybe it's better if we know."

"I think it's a stupid reason to find out the sex of our babies."

"Well, it wouldn't be the only reason. I'm just really curious."

He raised his shoulders. "I wouldn't mind not knowing. But if you really want to know…"

"We can always decide later."

"Yeah. They might not be able to tell anyway."

"Maybe…"

They drove in silence for a few minutes. Luke glanced at Lorelai once in a while, and noticed her mood. "If you want to know that's fine by me. We can ask the doctor if they can tell us. Really."

She looked at him. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." His smile gave her assurance.

"Thanks."

He nodded and focused back on the road.

"Hey Luke?"

"Mmmm…"

"If one of the babies is a girl…."

"Then what? I'd like one of babies to be a girl, or both of them. Or boys would be nice too. I don't mind."

"Good to know. But what I wanted to ask, if one of the babies is a girl, can we name her after my mother?"

"I thought you didn't want that."

"With Lucan, I really didn't. But things are so much different now. And it doesn't even has to be her first name. But it'd be nice as a second name. Or to give her a nickname just like Rory. I just don't know what goes with Emily.."

"Emma or Lily."

She raised her nose. "Nah."

"We can figure it out later. I think your mother will be very proud either way."

"I think so too. She's been through so much the past year and a half. I'm glad she's doing so well after the surgery. The doctor said she might be able to go home tomorrow. But she still has the radiotherapy in front of her you know. From what I heard, that's pretty intense."

"It is."

Lorelai looked at him curiously. "My dad went through it. It exhausted him. But he only went a few times, because he went there to take away his pain and in the end, it only became worse. It's different with your mother. But it will be tough."

Lorelai nodded. 'Your dad went through a lot, didn't he."

"He did. When they diagnosed him with cancer, it was already spread. They gave him chemotherapy at first, but after a few rounds the cancer had only spread further instead of decreased, so they stopped. He went without treatment for a few weeks until he got in so much pain that they wanted to try the radiotherapy. After that he only got morphine. He died about two weeks after that."

Lorelai put her hand on his knee. "It must have been so hard on you."

"It was. And I handled it all wrong. I still regret that. I'm glad you're spending so much time with your mother, trying to make her feel better, talking about your life."

She squeezed his knee. "Your father knew you were there for him Luke. I'm sure he loved you very much. I wish I could have met him."

"Me too. He would have loved you. And he would have been so proud to meet his grandchildren."

"You have to make sure you tell our kids about your parents Luke. I know it's hard for you sometimes, but you have to tell them how you were raised and about your relationship with them."

"I'll try to tell them as much as possible."

"Good." Lorelai smiled lightly. "So, when we get another boy, how do you want to name him?"

"When Lucan was born, you promised your mother you would name him after your father."

"Of course you remember that. Do you think there's any chance she forgot?"

"I don't think so."

"Me neither. But I know one thing, I'm not naming our twins Richard and Emily because that would be just weird."

"Yeah, I agree."

"I'm glad."

"So, something else then."

"Yeah. Mmm.. Do we still have that name book?"

"It should be somewhere in the apartment. I'll try and see if I can find it later."

"Cool."

-xxxxxx-

"Lorelai Danes."

"That's us." Lorelai stood up and pulled Luke, who was carrying Lucan with her.

"Good afternoon Lorelai, Luke. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm feeling fine thank you." Lorelai sat down on the exam table, as Luke settled for standing against the wall. Lucan tried to get out of his arms, but Luke hold him tight.

"He got so big since I last saw him." Dr. Elder looked at Luke and his son.

"He's growing too fast." Lorelai replied. "And so are these two in here. I feel like I'm getting more fat every day." She looked at Luke who gave her a knowing smile.

"First of all, it's not fat. Second, it's a good thing that they are growing, although I highly doubt that they're growing that fast."

"Tell that to my clothes. I can't fit in any of my regular clothes. And I can't even fit in some of my maternity clothes anymore."

"It's only a good sign. I would worry if it was the other way around."

"Easy for you to say." But Lorelai knew she was right. She was glad the babies were growing so well.

"How have you been feeling lately?" Dr. Elder took a chair and sat down in front of Lorelai.

"Considering the circumstances, very well. I've been nauseas a few times, but that had more to do with me worrying about my mother, than anything else."

"What happened to your mother?"

"You remember when I called you and asked you about the lump I felt in my breast?"

"Of course. I received a letter that it was a cyst and that they will monitor it once a year."

"Yeah. But my mother had mammography pictures taken at that same day and was diagnosed with breast cancer. She's recovering from her surgery right now."

"How is she doing?"

"She's doing okay. They removed the tumor and so far, they haven't found metastasis in the lymph nodes. But she still has to go through radiotherapy once she's healed from the surgery. She's still in the hospital right now, but she might be able to go home tomorrow."

"That's good to hear. So, besides the nausea, did you feel anything else?"

"No, nothing really. I can feel the babies move, but that's a good thing. No more dizziness or anything like that. There's nothing to complain about really."

"I'm glad to hear that. Let me take your blood pressure first, then I want to draw some blood to do some tests just to be sure. And after that we can do an ultrasound."

Lorelai looked at Luke with slight panic in her eyes, then turned her gaze back to the doctor. "Is it really necessary to draw the blood?"

"You ask me that every time so you already know the answer." She put the blood pressure monitor around Lorelai's arm and started pumping. "145 over 95. Not bad at all."

"Are you sure? It was a little lower the last time."

"It's normal for a blood pressure to get higher during a pregnancy. This is a very nice blood pressure. Nothing to worry about."

"Ok."

Dr. Elder took out all the stuff she needed to draw Lorelai's blood. Luke went to stand next to Lorelai, and took her right hand in his, while he was still fighting to keep Lucan in his arms.

Before Lorelai realized it, the blood was tapped and dr. Elder asked her to lay down. "Let's see how the babies are doing."

Lorelai lifted her t-shirt and flinched when dr. Elder put some cold gel on her stomach. "Do you think you can tell the sex of the babies?"

"Do you want to know?"

Lorelai glanced at Luke who nodded. "Yeah. I would love to know."

"Let's see if the babies are in a good position to tell." She did some measurements first, then turned the screen towards Luke and Lorelai. "Here's the first baby. This is the head," she moved the probe downwards "the arms, and this are the legs. And this baby is…." She looked at the monitor. "This is a little boy. Here" She pointed at the screen.

"Wow." Lorelai smiled towards Luke. Then she looked at her son. "Do you see that honey, that's your little brother."

Luke smiled and kissed Lorelai. "How's he doing?"

"He looks fine. He's growing the way he should. He's a little small, but that's common for twins. Now let's see if his little brother or sister is willing to reveal some more information about him or herself." She looked at the screen as she moved the probe on Lorelai's stomach. "This is baby number two. This baby is lying upside down. The head is down here, and there's the stomach. Here, you can see the heart. And there are the arms, and the legs. Mmm…."

"What?"

"This is a difficult angle. If the baby won't move, I won't be able to tell whether it's a boy or a girl."

"Come on baby." Lorelai put her hand on her stomach, and on the screen they saw how the baby moved.

"The baby's moving towards the warmth of your hands." Dr. Elder smiled. "Here, I got a good angle."

"And?" For a second Lorelai hoped that it was a girl, but then she pushed the thought out of her mind, knowing she would love two boys as well.

"It's a girl."

"Really? A boy and a girl?" Lorelai's smile widened.

"Yeah, one of each." Dr. Elder made a few pictures of both babies before she turned off the ultrasound machine and dried off her stomach.

Lorelai sat back up and took Lucan out of Luke's arms, because he was beginning to lose his grip on the boy. She turned to face Luke. "I still can't believe there are two little babies in there. A boy and a girl. It's amazing."

"It is." He placed a fast kiss on her lips.

"So, that's it for today. You seem to be doing fine and so are the babies. Keep eating healthy, vitamins are always good. You can make a new appointment for three weeks from now. And you know, if there's anything you can always call me."

"I know. Thank you so much."

Dr. Elder handed Lorelai the pictures. "This are the first pictures of your babies. The ones from the boy are on top."

"Thank you. I can't wait to show them to my mom, and to my daughter."

Dr. Elder smiled. "Take care, and see you in three weeks."

"See you in three weeks."

The little family left the doctor's office. When Lorelai closed the door behind her, she grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him towards her. She kissed him long and deep and tried to get as close as possible with her stomach in the way and with Lucan in her arms. She didn't let go until the little boy started fussing.

"Wow." Luke smiled when she pulled away from him.

"Yeah. So, now we know we get a boy and a girl it's easier to pick names. Are you sure we can name the girl after my mom?"

"I already told you I'm fine with that. Speaking of which, do you want to go by yourself and have me pick you up in an hour or so, or do you want me to come with you?"

"There's no use driving back to Stars Hallow so why don't you come. She loves to see Lucan and we can tell her about the babies together."

"Okay."

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai peeked around Emily's door and saw her mother sitting up in bed. Her father was sitting next to her. "Hey mom." Lorelai went inside, with Luke following close behind her.

"Lorelai." Emily smiled, and her smile got even bigger when she saw Lucan. "Hello there my beautiful grandson." She reached her arms out towards him.

"Are you sure you want to do that mom? He's pretty wild. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I just want to hold my grandson for a few minutes."

"Fine." Lorelai took Lucan from Luke and handed him to her mother. "Be careful."

Lucan looked at his grandmother curiously. "Mama."

"No, I'm grandma."

"Mama." He smiled.

"No, I'm grandma. That's mama." She pointed towards Lorelai who took a seat next to her father. Luke did the same. "And that's dada. And that's grandpa."

"Dada."

"Yeah. Dada."

"Mama." He looked up at Emily again.

"No, grandma."

"Gama."

Emily smiled and kissed the boy on top of his head. "Close enough."

Lucan smiled proudly as he kept repeating. "Gama."

Emily smiled and turned to look at Lorelai. "How did your appointment go?"

"Very well. The babies are growing okay. My blood pressure is good and they drew some blood but I won't hear anything about that unless something is wrong so… They also did an ultrasound." Lorelai grabbed her purse and took out the pictures dr. Elder had given to her earlier. "This is your grandson." She handed Emily the picture.

"My grandson? A boy?" She looked at the picture, careful to keep Lucan's hands away from the picture. "Look Richard. This is our grandson." She handed the picture to him.

Richard wasn't sure what to do with the picture so he looked at it and then handed it back to Lorelai. "That's wonderful Lorelai."

"And the other baby?" Emily looked curiously.

"This is your granddaughter." Lorelai handed Emily the picture of her daughter.

"A girl? A boy and a girl. That's wonderful Lorelai."

"I know. Now I'll have two of each. It really didn't matter. I would have liked two boys or two girls, but this is perfect."

"It is." She looked at the picture proudly before handing it to Richard.

"Congratulations Lorelai."

"Thanks dad." She had to smile at his discomfort. He really didn't know what to do with the pictures. "So mom, did they tell you when you're able to go home?"

"I can go home tomorrow."

"That's great." She looked at her mother and saw they had already taken out the drain. "Why weren't you allowed to go home today?"

"Because they wanted to monitor me for an extra day. Just to see how I'm doing without the drain and without the IV."

"Oh, that's good I guess."

"It is, but I'm really happy I can leave this place tomorrow."

"I can imagine." She turned to look at Luke, who looked uncomfortable. "I think Luke will be happy if he doesn't have to come here again any time soon."

"Before you know it you will be here for the birth of the twins."

"That won't be for a few months. They better stay inside there for a while longer."

"Just wait until you're lying in a hospital bed. You won't know where the time went."

"I have that feeling every day Lucan learns something new. It's like yesterday when I was lying in one of those hospital beds, holding him for the very first time. And look at him now. He's walking, he can say mama and dada, and now grandma."

"Gama."

They all laughed.

"I've been trying to teach him that for weeks now. I've also been trying to get him to say Rory, but that's hopeless."

"He'll learn it fast enough."

"Yeah I know."

-xxxxxx-

That night Luke and Lorelai were lying in bed together. Lorelai was using Luke's shoulder as a pillow and silently played with his chest hair.

Luke watched her. "What are you thinking?"

"Mmm.. nothing."

"Liar." He kissed her forehead.

"I'm just thinking how it's going to be."

"What?"

"The babies. Us all living together at our house."

"And, what do you think?"

"I think we're going to be happy. We'll have to figure out a lot of things, like how to take care of three little kids, but we're going to do alright. I know it."

"Me too." He kissed her again. "I guess Michel won't be too happy if you brought all of them to work."

"Probably not. But he has to learn to deal. Besides, I don't think I'll be working a lot at first."

"Probably not. But he and Claire are doing a good job together right? You think you'll be able to keep her next year?"

"I gave her a full year. The inn is doing great. We're fully booked most of the time so…"

"It'll all work out I guess. I'll take them a few days, you take them a few days. And if it's too busy to take them to work, maybe we can stay home with them a few days a week. And we can always get someone to baby-sit if we can't manage together."

"True. Although I still don't like the idea of having someone else raise our kids."

"Me neither."

She smiled again. "I'm glad."

"Tom just came to the diner. He says the house will be ready in two weeks. All we have to do is pick out wallpaper and we still have to shop for furniture."

"Sounds good. I want to go to my mom when she comes home tomorrow, but maybe we can go the day after or so?"

"We'll see. I have to ask Jake if he can work."

"Mmm.. ok." She started playing with her chest hair again. Then she looked up at him. "So, which color are you thinking?"

"For what?"

"The nursery."

He raised his shoulder. "Whatever you want."

"I'm sure you have an opinion."

"I really don't care. As long as we don't paint the whole thing pink, it's fine by me."

"I don't want blue either. And yellow is stupid because almost every nursery is yellow."

"How about white?"

She raised her nose. "Nah, too boring."

"So, what do you have in mind?"

"I definitely don't want green." Thinking of what Sherry said all those years ago. "No orange, no gray or brown or something like that…"

"Which leaves us to what?"

"I'm thinking…."

He shook his head. "There's nothing left."

"There must be something… purple." She smiled.

"Absolutely not."

"No fun." She pouted.

"How about we paint have of the room light blue and the other half a light pink?"

She thought about it for a moment. "With a wooden floor and wooden furniture…" She tried to picture it in her mind. "Or maybe we just have to go to the store and see what kind of wallpaper they have. Maybe they have something in a nice undefined color with a nice cartoon or something."

"Sounds good."

"And our bedroom?"

"Don't care. As long as it's not pink."

"What is it with you and pink" She smiled.

"I could ask you the same thing." He turned on his side and kissed her deeply. She put her arms around him and soon the paint colors were forgotten.

T.B.C.


	23. Moving in

_A/N: A new chapter. No long author's note because I have to work and my patient is waiting but I wanted to post this chapter. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy this one!_

**Chapter 23 – Moving in**

"Luke, come on."

"No. The paint fumes are too dangerous for the babies."

"But I won't go in the rooms where they paint. Please, I haven't seen the inside of the house from when Tom started working on it."

"And you won't until it's completely finished. We've been over this."

"But Luke. That's not fair. Come on. If you won't let me be there while they paint, you should at least let me help when we move our stuff back in."

"No, you can't carry heavy things."

"What about the light things? There's enough I can do."

"No."

"But…"

"No, and that's it. Besides, we're moving in this Saturday and you have that wedding at the inn. By the time the wedding is over we'll be done with the moving so you can see the house for the first time and we can sleep in our new bed for the very first time."

She sighed. "Fine. But remember I will hold this against you for the rest of your life."

"Just add it to the list of other stuff you're holding against me. I don't care. All I want is for our babies to get born healthy."

She knew he was right, but she still hated the fact that the whole town was going to see what her house looked like before her.

"So, I'm going to help Tom. You have to take Lucan today, okay?"

"Fine. I'll go to the inn for a few hours, and then I'm going to see my mom. She has to go to the hospital for a check-up today. I offered to go, but she didn't want me to." Lorelai was still hurt Emily refused to let her come.

"She just wants to do this together with your father. Don't worry okay. She's going to be fine."

Lorelai nodded. "I see you tonight?"

He nodded. "Call me if you're running a little late, so I'll have dinner ready by the time you get to the diner. I'm working this evening."

"I know. You already told me."

He gave her a quick kiss. "See you tonight."

"Uhuh." Lorelai watched how he walked away, then she took Lucan out of the playpen and helped him in his coat. "Come on. Let's go see uncle Michel." Lucan gave her a weird face and Lorelai laughed. "Yeah you're right. I'll never say that again."

She drove the car towards the inn and took Lucan out of his car seat. She carried him inside, which he didn't like. Now that he learned how to walk he preferred to walk everywhere by himself. "Come on sweetie. You can walk once we're inside. This goes way faster." Lorelai tried to hold him tight, although she was having trouble doing so. She didn't want him to start kicking, afraid he would kick her stomach. She started walking faster and was able to hold her grip on Lucan just until they reached the inn. "Morning Michel." She said when she placed Lucan on the floor.

"Good morning Lorelai. Nice to see you made it to the inn this morning. I started to think that you forgot how to get here."

"Keep it up Michel, and I'll let you baby sit Lucan all day."

"I'm not looking after that child." He looked disgusted.

"That child is my son Michel. You'll better be nice to him if you want to keep your job."

"Looking after that child is not in my job description. You can not fire me because I don't want to look after him."

"And I won't. Besides, I love my son so I wouldn't let him spend a day with you Michel. I want him to live longer."

The phone rang. "I better get back to work because this conversation is not going anywhere." He picked up the phone. "Dragonfly Inn, Michel speaking."

Lorelai smiled as she took Lucan's hand in hers. Come on, let's say hello to Sookie."

"Ie." He yelled happy and tried to run. Of course his little legs couldn't go as fast he wanted so he almost fell. Lorelai was able to catch him right before that.

"Take it easy honey. Sookie's not going anywhere." A little slower they walked towards the kitchen, where Lorelai lifted Lucan again. He started to protest, but she looked at him firmly. "You can't walk around in the kitchen. It's too dangerous honey."

"Lorelai." Sookie looked at her friend. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"And your mom?"

"She's having her first check-up after the surgery today. They will also have the permanent biopsy results. I wanted to go with her and dad, but she wouldn't allow me."

Sookie looked at her friend. "It's just something she has to do by herself Lorelai. You helped her so much already."

"Yeah I know. But it feels different you know."

Sookie nodded.

"I'm going to my office to catch up on some paperwork and drive to Hartford this afternoon. Luke's at the house all day anyway."

"How does it look so far?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I have no idea. He won't let me inside. First it was because of all the dust, and now it's because of the paint fumes."

"He's just a little overprotective. He means well."

"I know, but… Ugh…"

Sookie smiled. "Just be happy that he's not like Jackson when he first found out I was pregnant with Davy. Remember how he attacked everything with his calculator?"

Lorelai had to laugh now too. "You're right. Just the look on his face. And how he wanted to baby proof everything in the house! I know Luke did some stupid things too, but I know he just wants what's best for the babies. I just, he won't even let me help move back in. The whole town can help but me. I just feel a little left out."

"Then tell him that."

Lorelai nodded. "Maybe I will. I better get out here because I don't think I can hold Lucan in my arms much longer."

"He likes walking too much. Just wait until he learns to do more stuff by himself. Davy doesn't allow me to help with anything. It's really frustrating."

"They grow up too fast, don't they. I'm glad I still have the twins who'll fully depend on me once they're born."

"And you're going to be so happy when they learn to do stuff by themselves. The baby phase is fun, but it only gets better after that."

"You're probably right, but I will enjoy it as long as they're small because this is the last time I'm going to do this. Sometimes I wish they could stay small forever, but then I look at Rory and it's nice that they grow up and get independent. I still can't believe that my baby girl is getting married."

"Did they set a date yet?"

"No, not yet. Maybe in the fall, but Rory's too busy finishing school right now."

Sookie nodded. "They're young. They have more than enough time anyway."

"Exactly. But talking about weddings, did you finish the menu for the wedding we have on Saturday?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure…."

"Sookie. You have to decide because Stephanie is going to be here around one o clock and everything needs to be finished by then."

"I'll do my best okay."

Lorelai nodded. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

-xxxxxx-

"Mrs. Danes." Emily's maid opened the door.

"I've told you before you can call me Lorelai." Lorelai handed the maid her and Lucan's coat. "Are my parents in the living room?"

"Yes ma'am."

Lorelai shook her head, deciding to ignore this. She put Lucan on the floor and lead him into the living room.

Richard and Emily looked up when they heard someone enter. "Look at that Emily. Our grandson is walking in all by himself."

"I can see that Richard." There was a huge smile on her face.

"Hi mom, dad."

"Oh, hello Lorelai."

Lorelai sat down on the couch while Lucan kept walking around. "How was your appointment mom?"

"It was fine." The maid walked in so Emily turned to face her. "Sophia, can you get my grandson something to drink?"

"Of course Mrs. Gilmore."

Lorelai grabbed the diaper bag and took out a zippy cup. "Here you go Sophia. Just give him some juice. Apple juice or orange juice, whatever you have."

"Of course."

"And Sophia, while you're in the kitchen, can you boil some water for tea?"

"Of course. I'll be right back." Sophia walked away.

"So mom, how did things went at the hospital?"

"Like I said, everything is fine. The biopsy results came back negative. My lymph nodes are all clean. The wound is healing well and I can start radiotherapy in about two weeks."

"That's wonderful news mom."

Emily smiled. "It is."

Lorelai looked at her mother. "Why wouldn't you let me come to the hospital with you?"

"I'm a big girl Lorelai. I can take care of myself."

"I know that mom. But I would have been more than pleased to come with you. I know it was your decision and I respect that, I just, I didn't do anything wrong right?"

"No, of course not. I was just very positive. I didn't expect anything to be wrong so it was just a quick visit. I've been at the doctor's office for only ten minutes or so. I preferred you coming to visit me with Lucan after the doctor's appointment because now I get to spend much more time with the both of you."

That answer satisfied Lorelai. "I would have gone home to pick him up mom."

"I know. But it wasn't necessary. I really appreciate that you worry about me though."

"Of course I do mom."

"So, how are things at the house? Do you think you'll be able to move in this weekend?"

"According to Luke we can. Honestly, I haven't seen the place since they started the construction. Luke won't allow me to go inside. First because of the dust and now because of the paint fumes. But from what I've heard they're moving all the stuff in this weekend."

"Do you think there's anything we can help with?"

"I wouldn't know. Luke doesn't allow me to help with that either. Plus, I have a wedding at the inn. But mom, I don't think you should be lifting heavy things either. If dad wants to help, maybe you can help out with the wedding? Luke can't look after Lucan so I have to take him to work, but I think it's easier when you're around to watch him once in a while."

"I'd be more than happy. And you're father will help Luke, right Richard?"

"Of course. Tell Luke I'll be there around 9 o clock."

"I will. Thanks dad."

He nodded. "Do you mind if I go into my office? I have a few important phone calls to make."

"Of course not."

They watched how Richard walked away. "Things are back to normal for him, aren't they?"

Lorelai asked her mother.

"I'm not sure. He's refusing to make any business trips."

"He just wants to spend some time with you."

Emily nodded. "I just worry about him sometimes."

"Don't. I think it's good that he's cutting on his trips. Who knows how long he will still continue working. He's not getting any younger. It's good to know that if he has to choose between you and his work, you come first. There was a time he couldn't let go of his work, and it's a good sign that he can now."

"I didn't thought of it that way."

"Gama." Lucan was standing in front of his grandmother.

"What is it sweetie?"

He smiled and extended his arms.

"He wants you to pick him up." Lorelai smiled.

Emily lifted her grandson in her lap. "Is this better?"

"Gama."

"He really needs to learn a few more words. It's hard to understand what he wants."

"You just have to spend more time with him. He knows how to make clear what he wants, and be careful when you don't give him what he wants."

"It's good to hear that he looks like you. You were horrible as a child."

"I was not."

Emily shook her head. "When you were his age you had a strong will already. When I told you no you got angry and threw yourself on the floor. Sometimes you even started crying."

"I'm glad he doesn't do that. He can mock and he's very good at getting grumpy, but I think he got that from Luke. Plus, I don't see how it would be good if he got that part of my character."

"Because that way you could see it wasn't always easy for me when you were little. You got lucky with Rory, but it's not always that easy."

"I never said it was easy. And I fully realize that none of them will be like Rory. I already warned Luke about that. But seriously, Lucan's not a difficult baby, he's just starting to get his own will and I don't see how that's a bad thing."

Emily felt how Lucan struggled to get out of her grip, wanting to get back on his own feet. "He's already showing his independence."

"Exactly my point."

"Soon he starts doing more things on his own. He learns new things every day."

"I was just talking to Sookie about that. I'm glad I'll have the twins who will fully depend on me at first. I do realize that it won't be easy to raise to small babies and a one-year-old, but I'm actually looking forward to it. Even though I want them to stay in there for quite a while longer, I can't wait to hold them for the very first time."

"It's definitely going to be interesting. Have you thought about what you're going to do with the kids once you get back to work after they're born?"

"Not really. Luke and I discussed it a little. We decided that we don't want a stranger to take care of them. We want to take care of them by ourselves as much as possible."

"If you need any help, I'd be more than happy to take care of them."

"I'll keep that in mind mom. Thanks for the offer."

Emily nodded, doubting if Lorelai would honestly consider letting her look after the kids.

"I'll talk it over with Luke. Maybe we can bring them to work one day each, take one day off, and you can have them for one day a week."

"That would be nice. But I wouldn't mind taking them more than one day."

"We'll see okay. We still have a few months left to decide what's best. And you have other things to focus on first. You said you can start radiotherapy in two weeks?"

"Yes. I have to go to the hospital by the end of next week when they'll make a treatment plan with pictures and drawing lines on my skin. I'm not completely sure how it will go, but I got some prospects where they explain what's going to happen. I can get them for you if you want."

"Please. And mom, if you want me to come with me all you have to do is say the worth."

"I know Lorelai. But you don't have to come to the hospital with me all the time. Like I said earlier, I prefer you visiting with my grandson afterwards."

Lorelai nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

**-xxx Saturday xxx-**

The bride and groom were having their first dance as a married couple. Lorelai and Emily were watching. Lucan was asleep in Lorelai's office.

"I remember when Luke and I were standing there, dancing our first dance at our wedding."

"You were a beautiful bride."

Lorelai shook her head. "I was 8 months pregnant."

Emily turned to look at her daughter. "I always picture the perfect wedding for you, and you got it Lorelai. It's nothing like I planned, but it was still perfect."

"It was." Lorelai smiled, remembering that day. Then she turned to look back at the bride and groom. "I wonder if they realize how soon this day will be over. Stephanie has been planning this wedding for months. But when the day comes it's flying by, and the real thing starts. I know that it was different for me because I got married the same week Luke proposed to me. But the circumstances were different because I was pregnant and Rory flew over from London. I was just tired of waiting."

"I still don't understand why he didn't ask you sooner."

"Because he didn't want me to think he wanted to marry him just because I was pregnant. He wanted to marry me because he loves me."

"I remember when your father proposed to me. I still see myself sitting there on that bench on at Yale."

Lorelai smiled, trying to picture the moment. "When you first met dad, did you see yourself getting married to him?"

Emily nodded. "Not right away, but I soon started to realize that I could. It was the first time I felt that way about someone. I knew it was special."

"That's how I felt about Luke. It was different because we were friends for eight years. First I didn't notice him, but when I started to notice him, and slowly fell in love with him, I got afraid. I was afraid to ruin that friendship forever. Until the moment he first kissed me. I knew it then. I could picture spending the rest of my life with him."

"I'm so sorry I couldn't see what a good man he was. I realize now how much he's done for you and Rory. And he's a very good father to Lucan and a good husband to you."

"He is. And he'll be an amazing father for the twins too."

"I want him to walk me down the aisle." Lorelai and Emily turned around when they heard Rory's voice. "What were you saying?"

"When Warren and I get married, I want Luke to walk me down the aisle. I know I should have talked to Luke first, but I couldn't help but overhear part of what you were saying. Grandma, I hope you're okay with that. I know that Chris will probably come to the wedding and that he'll want to do it. But I want Luke to do it, because he's been more like a father to me, than Chris has ever been."

Before Lorelai realized tears filled her eyes. She was so proud that her daughter was feeling that way. She looked at her mother, hoping she could see it too.

Emily doubted. It wasn't right. "Rory, Christopher is your father and if he wasn't around, I'd say that it's more than appropriate to ask Luke, but he is around so he should do it."

"But grandma, he has never been around. I see you more often than I've ever seen dad. I know that he is my father and I honestly love him, but he doesn't deserve it. I want my wedding to be perfect and I want Luke to walk me down the aisle. I'll ask him no matter what you say, but I'd feel better if you understand why I want this."

Lorelai decided to let Rory and her mother talk on their own. "I'm going to check on the quests."

Emily nodded as she faced Rory. "I don't know. It's not appropriate."

"But grandma, isn't your father supposed to walk you down the aisle? I mean, I know you can argue that Christopher is my father, but he never acted like one. I know he loves me, but right now he doesn't even know that I'm getting married. I can't remember the last time I spoke to him. He never calls or anything. And at first, I tried calling him but I just gave up. Luke has always been there for me. He took care of me when I was sick. He made me mashed potatoes every day when I had the chicken pox. He came to my caterpillar's funeral. He baked me a cake for my 16th birthday. He came to my high school graduation and cried. He doesn't know that I know, but mom told me."

Emily smiled. "If that's what you want, then it's fine by me. I want your wedding to be perfect Rory, and if you want Luke to walk you down the aisle, then he's going to."

"Really?"

Emily nodded. "Absolutely."

Rory hugged her grandmother. "Thank you so much." She saw that Lorelai was watching them, so she lifted up her thumb. Lorelai smiled, and repeated the gesture.

Lorelai heard Lucan yelling through the baby monitor. "Mama." She smiled and walked towards her office. The boy was standing in the playpen. "Mama."

"Hey big boy." She took him out the playpen. "Did you sleep okay?" She cleaned his diaper and walked outside where Rory and Emily were still talking. "Look who's awake."

"Hey Lucan." Rory extended her arms towards her brother who did the same. She placed a kiss on his head. "Grandma thinks it's okay if I ask your dad to walk me down the aisle. Is that okay with you too?"

"Ie." He smiled at her.

"Yes, I'm Rory."

"Ie."

"You hear that mom?"

"Yeah I do sweetie. He's learning to say new stuff every day."

"He can say grandma too." Emily announced proudly.

"Really, who's that?" Rory pointed at Emily.

"Gama."

"Yeah, that's grandma." Rory smiled again. "You're getting really big huh."

Lorelai smiled, then had to ask. "So, how's the house coming?"

"It's almost finished. Luke send me here to keep an eye on you. He calls me when I can bring you home. If you can leave the inn that is."

"Claire's going to be here soon."

"That's good. You worked long enough anyway."

"Uhuh. So, do you like it? Do you think I'll like it?"

"What?"

"The house."

"Yeah." Rory responded vaguely. "Just be patient, you'll see it soon enough.

"Rory."

Rory smiled. "Mom."

"Mama." Lucan threw in.

"You're something. All of you." Emily said while shaking her head.

-xxxxxx-

"Okay, close your eyes." Luke and Lorelai were standing on the front porch.

"Luke."

"Do it." He covered her eyes with one hand, and opened the door with the other. Then he started walking and guided her inside the house. "Okay, open them." He removed his hand when they were standing in the living room.

Lorelai opened her eyes and gasped. The furniture she and Luke picked out was even more beautiful than she remembered. And the color she picked out was even more beautiful on the walls. "Wow Luke, this is amazing."

"You like it?"

"I love it!" She gave him a quick kiss when she walked around for a while, tracing the furniture with her hand. "It's beautiful."

"Good. Do you want to see our bedroom?"

She nodded, and climbed the stairs. Luke opened the door for her and she stepped inside. "Wow." The wallpaper was light blue and the furniture was classic, just the way she liked it.

"Come on, I'll show you the bathroom."

The new bathroom was twice as big as the other once. There were two sinks, there was a separate shower, and there was a huge bathtub. "Luke, this is amazing." She had a huge smile on her face. "I can't believe this. Is this really our house?"

"It is." He smiled too as he stood behind her, putting his arms around her and resting his hands on her stomach. "So you like it?"

"I can't find the right words to express how I feel about this. It's amazing."

"I'm glad you feel that way. So, do you want to see everything else downstairs?"

"Absolutely." They walked downstairs again where Luke lead her into the office first. There was a desk with a laptop computer. And a book case filled with books. "Where do they come from?"

"The computer is a gift from your parents, and the books were already ours. Some were my dads and you had a few as well."

"It's nothing like what Rory has in her room, but it's a nice start. It looks great. I can't believe we have an office."

"It's convenient when one of us has to work at home when the babies come."

Lorelai nodded. "It's perfect Luke. So show me the rest."

The walked into the kitchen. "I know you don't really care, but I hope you like it anyway."

She smiled. "I like it. I don't think I'll use anything in here, besides the coffee maker and the microwave, and maybe the oven to warm my socks…"

"Don't even think about it."

She laughed. "I still love that dining table. It's huge. It can easily fit our whole family. I love it!"

"I'm glad. So, come on." He took her hand in his and lead her towards the nursery. "Are you ready?"

"Of course." Luke opened the door and Lorelai stepped inside. She gasped. "Oh my god."

There was a huge painting on the back wall. There was a whole landscape with houses and small cars, grass and flowers, a sun and even a rainbow. And there were small bears playing everywhere. The rest of the walls were painted cream white and there was a hardwood floor. The furniture was made by Luke himself. She could see that. There were bears carved into the wood of the cribs, in the big closet that was standing up against one wall and there was a big changing table with two pillows so it could fit both babies at the same time. "When did you manage to do all this? This is amazing." Her eyes were filled with tears as she was overcome with emotion.

He smiled when he saw her reaction. He was happy she loved it. "When you talked about paint colors for the nursery and couldn't really find any color you liked, I found this guy who paints. He asked me to show him the furniture and when he saw the bears I carved, he came up with this picture."

"It's beautiful. I've never seen something like this before. When did you manage to get all that furniture done Luke?"

"I started working on it when Tom started working on the house. I didn't allow you to come in here anyway so I could work on it without you knowing."

She shook her head. "It's amazing." And then. "It's perfect."

"So, all there's left to see is the backyard."

She nodded and they walked outside. There was a new door in the kitchen so the house still had two exits. There was a small path next to the house, leading towards the backyard. They followed the path and Lorelai looked at the house in amazement. "I can't believe it's still the same house. It looks completely different from this side."

"It does."

The backyard seemed different too. There was a swing set and a jungle gym. And there was a bench so they would be able to watch the kids play and sit in the sun. "It's amazing Luke. You didn't have to do all this."

"Lucan soon will be old enough to sit on the swing, and to climb a little. And next year he'll be able to play outside all by himself when the twins sit and play on a blanket on the grass and we can sit here and watch them all play."

They sat down and Lorelai could picture the image. "It's amazing. All of it. I had no idea what to expect, but it's better than I could have ever imagined." She turned to face him and kissed him hard. "Thank you Luke. This really is our house now."

"It already was."

"But it's completely our house now. The furniture is ours, everything is ours. What did Rory say?"

"She loved it."

"Good." Lorelai smiled as she leaned her head on Luke's shoulder. "I couldn't be happier now. Everything is perfect. And I couldn't be happier to sleep in my own house again tonight. Not that I mind sleeping at your old apartment, but I've done that you know. When Rory and I moved to Stars Hallow we moved into a potting shed. We had one room, with a little shower in the corner and that was it. When we first moved into this house, she thought it was so huge. She didn't remember living at my parents house because she was only a baby when we left. So she was used to always being able to see me anywhere in our house. But then we moved here and I had a room upstairs, and she had a room downstairs and the first week she sneaked into my bedroom every night because she was afraid to sleep by herself.

But when the time passed she got used to it and she liked to have a little more space to herself. She could listen to her own music, and when she thought I made too much noise she could withdraw in her own room to read or do her homework. And slowly we started building memories in this house. And I love that we're able to build new memories with our kids in this same house. Maybe it doesn't look quite the same anymore, but it is still the same. I want to grow old in this house Luke."

"Me too."

She closed her eyes. "Mmm… it's quiet out here."

"Mmm mmm." He closed his eyes too.

When Richard, Emily and Rory came to drop of Lucan half an hour later, both Luke and Lorelai were asleep. With a smile they decided to let them sleep for a while and walked into the house to put Lucan in bed.

Inside the house Emily looked around and for the first time she walked into that house and felt nothing but pride for everything her daughter accomplished. She couldn't see why she hated this house so much before, because now all she could see was its beauty.

T.B.C.


	24. Sick

_A/N:It took a little longer than I expected, but here's the next chapter. To be honestI already finished most of this chapter even before I wrote the last one, but then I remembered that Luke and Lorelai were still living above the diner so I had them move back to their own house first. So once I finished that chapter, I only had to write the second half of this one. Lorelai wakes up with the flu and Luke ends up taking Lucan to Emily for a visit. So a big part Luke/Emily and of course some Luke/Lorelai and Lucan as well! I finished the chapter Monday when I was on the train, but I didn't got to posting it until now. So anyway, I hope you all like it, and don't forget to let me know what you think of course. And oh yeah, thanks to all who read and reviewed the last chapter! _

**Chapter 24 – Sick**

"Ugh…" Lorelai opened her eyes feeling horrible. She tried to lie still for a few moments, hoping she would feel better, but then felt her stomach turn and had to jump out of bed. She ran towards the bathroom, waking up Luke in the process. He got out of bed as well to see what Lorelai was doing. He found her on the bathroom floor, emptying the contents of her stomach in the toilet. He kneeled down behind her and held her hair while she threw up. When she was done she fell in his arms, and he didn't had to ask what had caused the vomiting when he felt her body heat.

"You're burning up."

She had just enough strength to nod.

"Do you think you're ready to go back to bed?" When she nodded again he lifted her up and carried her to the bed. She was almost asleep again when he placed her onto the mattress and put the sheets around her. He placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered. "You stay in bed all day. I'll take care of you and Lucan." She didn't hear it as she was already asleep.

Luke checked the clock and decided to stay out. It was already 7 o clock and he knew Lucan would wake up soon, if he wasn't awake already. Luke took a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt out of the closet and walked towards the bathroom for a quick shower. After that he went to check on Lucan. He saw the boy sitting up in bed, playing with his stuffed bear. He looked up at his father and smiled. "Dada."

Luke turned off the baby monitor before walking towards Lucan's bed and taking the little boy out. "Good morning baby. Did you sleep well?" The boy placed his head on his father's shoulder for a few seconds before looking up. "Mama."

"You're mommy's still sleeping. You have to be quiet because she's not feeling well today. How about we go downstairs for some breakfast and call Caesar that we're going to stay home to take car of mommy today huh?"

Lucan smiled in response.

Luke walked downstairs and put Lucan in the playpen. Then he walked into the kitchen to warm up some milk for the oatmeal. While he was waiting for the milk to boil, he picked up the phone.

"Luke's diner."

"Caesar, it's me. Luke."

"Hey boss."

"Listen, I can't come in today. Lorelai is sick and I have to stay home to take care of her. Do you think you can handle the diner by yourself?"

"Yeah, Jake's here and I can call Lane if I have to. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks. I call later to check how things are going."

"No reason to. We'll let you know when something goes wrong or when we need your help. But there won't be any reason to call you."

"Ok." Luke hung up and went to check on the milk. It wasn't quite done yet, so he started taking plates out of the cabinet. Just then Lucan started crying in the living room, not liking that he was left alone. Luke turned the stove to a lower temperature and went to check on his son. "What's up buddy?"

The boy was still crying as he was standing in the playpen, his arms in the air indicating for Luke to pick him up.

"You have to wait a little while longer. Daddy's making your breakfast okay. I'll be right back." He took a toy car and handed it to Lucan. "Here." Lucan threw the car out of the playpen as he remained crying. Luke doubted what to do. He didn't want to take Lucan into the kitchen, but he also didn't want him to wake up Lorelai so he decided to take the boy out of the playpen. The boy stopped crying immediately. "You're playing with me." Luke shook his head as he walked into the kitchen and placed Lucan in the high chair. "You sit here, I'll be right there with breakfast."

Luke walked to the stove and checked the milk. The temperature was perfect so he filled both plates with milk, then added the oatmeal and stirred until it was thick enough. He took two spoons out of the drawer and walked towards the table where Lucan was studying him. Luke sat down on the chair next to him and placed both plates on the table. He started feeding Lucan while he himself ate in between.

After breakfast Luke put the dishes into the dishwasher and took Lucan out of the high chair. "What do you want to do next? Do you want to play for a while or do you want to take a shower?" Of course Lucan didn't reply so Luke decided to put Lucan back in the playpen. But the boy started crying even before Luke had the chance to turn around. "Oh come on. What is it today? Normally you don't mind being in the playpen." He took Lucan out because he was still afraid the crying would wake up Lorelai. He put Lucan on the floor where the boy started crawling. Luke shook his head. "Why do you do that when you know how to walk?"

Lucan crawled around for a couple of minutes and then tried walking. When he was tired of that he sat down with some toys and kept himself busy while Luke caught up on some paperwork in their new office. Lucan was sitting in the door opening so Luke could keep an eye on him, while doing that. By the time Lucan was tired of playing all together, Luke had finished his paperwork and decided to check up on Lorelai and to shower Lucan.

Upstairs Lucan closed the small gate before the staircase so Lucan couldn't fall down the stairs and placed him on the floor in his bedroom. Then he went to check on Lorelai and saw she was still asleep. He watched her for a few seconds until he felt Lucan pulling on his pants. He looked down with a smile, picked him up and walked into his room again. He placed the boy on the changing table and took his clothes and diaper off. Then he put him in his bathrobe and walked into the bathroom. Lucan was used to the shower now. They sat him down and took of the shower head. It was much quicker than filling his bathtub and the floor stayed much dryer this way.

When Luke was about to wash Lucan's hair he heard the bathroom door open and saw how Lorelai ran towards the toilet. She threw up once again while Luke watched her. When she was done she sat down on the floor, exhausted again. Luke wanted to help her back to bed, but had to keep an eye on Lucan as well. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap. Did you call Sookie that I'm not coming in today?"

"No, I forgot. I did call Caesar that I'm not coming in."

"You don't have to stay home."

"I want to. I'm not leaving you alone like this."

"I'm not all by myself." She placed her hand on her big stomach.

Luke smiled. "But they can't take care of you, and I can."

"Thanks." She smiled weakly.

"Do you think you can make it back to bed by yourself? I have to dry and dress Lucan. I'll see if he wants to play in the playpen for a while so I can make you some breakfast."

The thought alone made her nauseous again. "Please don't."

"It'll make you feel better. I promise."

She shook her head. "I'm going back to bed."

He nodded and walked towards her to help her up while he kept one eye on Lucan. Lorelai felt a little dizzy while she was standing and doubted if her legs could carry her all the way back to bed.

"Are you okay?" He felt how unstable she was.

She honestly shook her head so Luke lifted her up and carried her back to bed. He was almost there when they heard a crash in the bathroom. Luke quickly placed Lorelai on the bed while he ran into the bathroom. He saw Lucan lying flat on his stomach in the shower, while he was crying. Luke turned off the water and lifted the little wet boy in his arms, trying to sooth him. It seemed like the boy tried to stand up in the shower and slipped on the wet floor. Luke made a mental node to buy one of those anti-slip mats for on the shower floor.

"Luke?" Lorelai's voice sounded weak but it was hard enough to hear, even through Lucan's crying.

He walked into their bedroom. "He slipped and fell. I think it's mostly the shock. He's not bleeding or anything."

Lorelai extended her arms towards her son so Luke handed him to her. "Why don't you get his clothes and a towel, then I'll comfort him."

Luke nodded. "Just make sure he doesn't get sick as well."

She shook her head while she watched Luke walk away. Then she focused on her. "What were you doing in there baby? You're not such a big boy that you can stand up in the shower all by yourself." She kept talking to him while she hugged him close and that seemed to calm him down. When he was quiet she sat him down on her legs so she could look at him. As Luke told her he wasn't bleeding anywhere and he didn't seem to have any bruises either. "You were lucky."

Luke came back with a towel and some clothes. He took Lucan from Lorelai and dried him. Then he put on a diaper and the clothes. "All done." Lucan smiled and looked at Lorelai. He extended his arms, hoping she would take him again.

"I can watch him for a while. I think I could try some dry crackers and a cup of tea. And maybe some ginger ale to settle my stomach."

Luke nodded, happy she offered to eat anything. "I'll go downstairs to get that and call the inn. Are you sure you want to keep him here?"

She nodded. "Can you hand me the remote?"

"Sure." He handed her the remote. "As long as you don't make him watch those stupid cartoons."

"Which ones honey?"

"You know which ones."

She smiled. "I promise."

"Good." He walked downstairs and filled the kettle with water. He put it on the stove and then walked to the telephone. He dialed the number of the inn.

"Dragonfly Inn, Michel speaking."

"Michel, it's Luke."

"Luke?"

"Luke Danes."

"Lorelai's not here yet."

"I know, that's why I'm calling. She won't be coming in today because she's sick."

"She never seems to come in nowadays. Are you sure she's sick?"

"I'm sure. And I'm even more sure you don't want her to come in today because she'd be around you all day and you'd be sick tomorrow."

"Ah yes. Tell her we're sorry she's sick and hopefully she'll feel better soon." The sarcasm was obvious in his voice.

"I will." Luke hung up frustrated. He wondered how Lorelai could put up with the guy. Ever since he got to know Michel, it was obvious that he wasn't a people person. A quality that seemed necessary while running an inn. He heard many complains from Lorelai over the years but still she hired him to work for her. He must be really good at his work or she doesn't know that there are normal people out there. He was shaken out of his thoughts when the water started boiling. He filled a cup with water and decided to make herbal tea. He filled a glass with ginger ale and placed a few dry crackers on a plate. He put it all on a tray and carried it upstairs, where both Lorelai and Lucan were asleep in front of the TV. He smiled at the sight in front of him and decided to sit down on the bed next to them. He turned on his side and watched them sleep.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai felt a little better that afternoon. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I promised to visit my mom today. Today was her first day of radiotherapy and I really want to see how she's doing."

"You're not going outside. You still have a fever and even though you made it without throwing up for a while now, doesn't mean that you're better."

"But I promised my mom."

"You can call her."

She sighed, knowing that Luke was right. "But she'll be disappointed that she won't be able to see Lucan. She was looking forward to that."

"How about I go and check on your mom? That way she can see Lucan and you have the house quiet for a nap."

"But I'm not tired."

Luke had to laugh at that. "You are. Look at yourself in the mirror Lorelai. I can see that you're feeling better than this morning, but if you go upstairs and lie down, I bet you'd be asleep within ten minutes."

She sighed, knowing he was right once again. "I'd appreciate that."

"Good. I'll go as soon as Lucan is awake okay?"

She nodded. "Can you maybe help me upstairs and lie down with me for a while?"

"Sure." He took her in his arms again.

"You don't have to carry me." She placed her head against his chest though.

He kissed the top of her head. "I don't mind." Upstairs he placed her on the bed and laid down on the other side. She snuggled close to him and placed her head on his shoulder.

"This is nice."

"Yeah it is."

"Maybe I should get sick more often."

"You're not serious about that."

"No I'm not, but it is nice to spend the afternoon in bed."

"I could think of some more fun ways to spend an afternoon in bed."

Lorelai smiled. "Why don't we ever do that?"

He raised his shoulders. "Because we hardly ever get an afternoon off at the same time, and when we do we're both too exhausted to even think about it?"

"I guess. Maybe when I feel better we can play hooky for one more day."

"Maybe." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "Let's focus on that now."

"What? Playing hooky?"

"No, on getting better."

She nodded and closed her eyes. Soon she was asleep.

Luke stayed in bed with Lorelai until he heard that Lucan was awake. He turned off the baby monitor and kissed Lorelai on her cheek. She opened her eyes. "Shhh go back to sleep."

She nodded and snuggled into her pillow, falling back asleep almost immediately.

Luke walked into Lucan's room and lifted the boy out of the bed. He decide to redress Lucan because he had a milk stain in his t-shirt and changed his diaper as well. Then he walked downstairs where he wrote a note for Lorelai, just in case. After that they went outside where Luke placed Lucan in his car seat.

"Mama."

"No, you're mommy's not coming. You and I are going to see your grandmother and mommy's sleeping because she's sick."

He looked at his father with wide eyes. "Gama?"

"Yeah, we're going to see grandma."

Lucan smiled happy and stared outside the window while Luke drove towards Hartford.

-xxxxxx-

"Hello Mr. Danes and young mr. Danes." Sophia opened the door.

"Hello Sophia." He looked down at Lucan. "Say hello."

The boy raised his shoulders shyly, which caused both Luke and Sophia to laugh.

"Please come in. Mrs. Gilmore is in the living room."

Luke stepped inside and followed Sophia into the living room.

"Mrs. Gilmore, there's someone here to see you."

Emily looked up, expecting to see Lorelai. "Luke." She sounded surprised. "I didn't expect you. Where's Lorelai?"

"She's sick so she asked if I could bring Lucan here. She was afraid you'd miss him."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Just a case of the flu. She's running a fever and throws up on occasion."

"Well, please sit down."

Luke did what he was told and put Lucan in his lap. But the boy didn't like to sit still so soon Luke put him on the floor. Lucan walked around the table to Emily. "Gama."

"Hello Lucan. How are you feeling today?"

He smiled. "Mama."

"You're mother is not feeling too well today according to your father."

He looked at her for a while, then started walking around the living room.

"So Emily, how did the radiotherapy went today?"

"It went fine. I spent more time in the waiting room than in the exam room. They positioned me on the table, then moved the machine a couple of times and I was outside again within five minutes."

Luke nodded. "It was the same for my father."

"They say you can get side-effects from the radiotherapy after a while. How was that for your father?"

"They gave him a very high dose at once becausegot the radiation therapy to ease his pain. But the pain became only worse for him, so he only went three times."

Emily nodded. "The situation was different, wasn't it."

"It was. My father had a very difficult type of cancer to treat and when they diagnosed him, they were already too late. At first we were still hopeful that they could help him, but nothing really worked. He went through surgery, he got chemo and radiation therapy. But nothing worked."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Now it was Luke's turn to nod. "He fought really hard, but in the end he just gave up. He changed a lot during those last months. He always was a strong man. He knew exactly what he wanted and he fought for everything. Of course he changed a lot after my mother passed away, but he really tried to make things as best as possible for me and my sister. He tried to take us to all the places my mother took us, only it wasn't the same. But even though we knew he was sad, he never showed us. And even when he was diagnosed with cancer he tried hard not to let me know how he really felt."

"It must have been hard on you."

"It was. And I wasted a lot of time with my father. It wasn't until the end that I started spending most of my time with him. I still regret that. That's why I'm so happy that Lorelai visits you so often now."

"I'm sure your father was a very good man."

"He was. He was a very good father, and a well respected man by the community. I'm sure you would have liked him if you had a chance to meet him."

"I'm sorry I was never able to meet your parents Luke."

"Me too. They would have loved to meet Lorelai, and to see our kids grow up. But unfortunately that never happened."

"Lorelai once told me you kept everything the same."

"I did. But slowly things are changing. Like the diner. I went without painting it for over ten years, but one day Lorelai convinced me to paint the diner. She ended up doing it by herself…" Lost in thoughts he remembered why that was. But he shook those thoughts away, knowing that was the past. "I lived above the diner for a long time. When my nephew moved in with me, I bought the building next to it so I could create some extra space to make him a room. The place was too small for us together."

"Jess." Emily remembered this boy. She didn't like him, but wisely didn't tell Luke.

"Yeah. He's a good kid. He really got himself together. He even wrote a book."

"He did?" This caught Emily's attention.

"Yeah. You should ask Rory about it."

"I will." They stared at each other for a few seconds. "But you know, I realized that it's good to move on. My father would have thought I was crazy if he knew I kept all those things the same all those years. And he would have been right. Lorelai let me see that change is good sometimes. And slowly everything is changing. There will be things I will always keep. Like the hardware store sign outside my diner, and pictures and some of my father's stuff, like his boat. But more to show Lucan and the twins so they can learn things about their grandparents."

"It's good to keep memories alive. I showed Lorelai pictures of my mother when she was younger. She loved looking at old pictures and hearing stories about the people on them. It was the only thing I could do to let her sit still."

Luke smiled as he tried to picture a young Lorelai with a big picture book in her lap and then when he pictured a little older Lucan doing the same thing.

"Luke?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're the man my daughter married. I know we had our differences over the years and that it was mostly my fault. But I'm glad things worked out the way they did. I'm happy to introduce you as my son in law and the father of my grandson and soon as the father of two of my other grandchildren. You're a great father and a good husband to my daughter."

Luke looked at Emily shyly. "I don't know what to say."

"Just accept my apologies for everything I did to you. I apologized to Lorelai many times, but I never personally apologized to you."

"That's okay. But thanks."

Emily nodded. Then they both turned to look at Lucan. He was sitting on the floor with an old stuffed bear in his lap.

Luke stood up and took the bear from him. "That one is grandma's. You're not allowed to play with it. There are toys for you in your bag. You know that."

Lucan turned to look at his grandmother, his eyes questioning. "Gama?" He pointed at the bear.

"It's okay Luke. Let him play with the bear."

Luke nodded, handed the bear to Lucan and walked back to the couch. "Was it yours or Richards?"

"Oh no. I bought it at an auction once."

"You don't have to let him play with it. I brought enough toys for him."

"It's okay. A bear is something you're supposed to play with. Lucan can have him if he wants to."

"Why don't you leave it here for him to play with, for when he comes over?"

"That would be nice." Emily looked at her grandson who was happily playing with the bear. "Did you and Lorelai talk about letting me baby sit once the twins are born?"

"We've talked about it briefly. We're not going to say yes or no just yet. We just have to see how things work out once the twins are born. It's very likely that we can't bring the kids to work every day, and we'd be more than happy to let you baby sit one or two days a week until they are old enough to go to school."

Emily nodded, happy to hear that they were seriously considering to let her baby sit. "Just let me know when you decide."

"We will." He looked at his watch. "If you don't mind I'm going home now. I send Lorelai to bed before I left, but I'm sure she'll wake up soon and I want to be home when she does. I want to try and get her to eat something."

"When Lorelai was a kid I always made her toast with squazed bananas when she was sick. It wasn't until a few years ago when I found out how disgusting that is." She smiled at the memory.

"A few years ago?"

Emily nodded. "It was the night Rory went to the Chilton formal. I went there to see her getting ready for the dance and to make some pictures. When I came there I found out Lorelai went through her back and couldn't walk so I decided to stay and take care of her. I made her the toast with the bananas, just like I did when she was a kid. She tasted it and said it was disgusting so I had to taste it myself. She was right." Emily left out the part where she fell asleep and woke up only to find out Rory hadn't come home, and the fight she and Lorelai had after that. But from the look on Luke's face, she knew that he knew that part of the story.

"I'll make sure not to make her any toast with squazed bananas then. How about some chicken soup? That's what my mother made for me when I was sick. It always seemed to help."

"That sounds much better."

-xxxxxx-

Lucan had fallen asleep in the car, so Luke placed him in the playpen after which he went upstairs to check on Lorelai. She was watching TV when he entered their bedroom.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better. The nap really helped."

"I told you it would." He sat down on the bed next to her and placed the palm of his hand on her forehead. "You're still a little bit warm, but not as hot as this morning."

"I didn't feel hot at all." She smiled devilish.

He shook his head and kissed her. "You're definitely feeling better, I can see that."

She nodded. "How was my mother?"

"She was doing okay. She said that the time in the waiting room was longer than the time she spend in the treatment room."

"So, it didn't hurt or anything?"

"No, you don't feel anything. And the side-effects won't come until after a few times."

She nodded again. "You stayed away long."

"I had a good time. We talked about my father and she apologized to me about the way she behaved when we first started dating. She said she apologized to you many times but that she never said it to me personally. She also said that she's happy that you married me."

"I'm happy about that too." She kissed him again. "So, what else did you talk about?"

"About the only way your mother got you to sit still as a child. And about her possibly baby sitting a few days once the twins are born."

"So how did she got me to sit still?"

"By showing you pictures of her mother and herself when she was younger and telling you stories."

Lorelai smiled, remembering this. "It's been a long time since I saw those. I guess I'll have to ask her about them when I see her again."

"You should. I'm sure she'd be happy to show them to you again."

Lorelai nodded. "Where's Lucan?"

"He fell asleep in the car. I placed him in the playpen downstairs. I think I'm going downstairs to make us some dinner and wake him up after that, otherwise he doesn't want to go to bed later."

"You better. Can I come downstairs with you? I'm tired of being in bed."

"Of course." He helped her up and let her stand on her feet for a few seconds. "No dizziness?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"Good." He took her hand and together they went downstairs.

T.B.C.


	25. Forgetting and forgiving

_A/N: First of all I want to apologize for not updating in such a long time. I forgot count, that's how long it's been. I've been working all summer, which was great for experience (and my bank account) but not so great for my story. But the weather sucks (so much that I had to turn of my computer in the middle of writing this chapter because of a thunderstorm) and it's Sunday so there wasn't anything I was supposed to do, so I finally sat down to write a new chapter. I've been kind of uninspired lately, but this morning it all came to me and I wrote this long chapter with the only interruption of the thunderstorm. Also, in between I've written a post season-6 story called Yellow Boots. If you haven't read it yet, I'd advice you to do so :P _

_I'm jumping a little bit forward in time in this chapter. Last chapter Emily just started her radiotherapy and in this one she's nearly finished. How everything else is going, plus the timeframe will be clear when reading this chapter!_

_So, better late than never I want to thank all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter, and of course, don't forget to leave me a review for this one!_

**Chapter 25 – Forgetting and forgiving**

"Lorelai come on. How many times do you want me to tell you I'm sorry? I'm sorry okay. It will never happen again."

Lorelai stopped halfway up the stairs. "I can't be around you right now Luke. Don't bother coming after me, and don't bother coming up here to sleep tonight. The couch is all you're getting tonight." And with that she climbed the remaining few steps, walked towards their bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

Luke watched Lorelai leave and cursed inwardly. "I'm sorry," he whispered and waited to hear if Lucan woke up from her yelling and the door slam. After a minute or so he heard their bedroom door open again. He sighed in relieve, hoping that she would finally listen to his apology. She appeared at the stair case and threw his pillow at him.

"Here. And there are blankets in the closet downstairs." With that she turned around, slamming the bedroom door behind her once again. This time it took only 5 seconds before Lucan started crying. Just when he was about to climb the stairs, the bedroom door opened for the second time that evening. "Don't bother." She yelled downstairs as she walked into Lucan's bedroom.

Luke sighed and sat down on the bottom stair, inwardly killing himself for forgetting.

_**- Earlier that day - 8. a.m.** **–**_

"Lorelai, hurry up."

"I'm not the one in a hurry Luke. I only have a meeting at the inn at 9."

"But I need you to take Lucan."

"Put him in the playpen." She yelled downstairs, where Luke was waiting impatiently.

"He starts crying the minute I put him in there."

"Not my problem. Just put some toys in his hands. He'll be fine."

"Lorelai." He sighed.

"I'm almost done. I just have to do my hair and my make-up."

He sighed again, knowing how long that would take. "You're already beautiful as you are."

"Thanks, but I'm not falling for that. And if you won't stop complaining now, it'll only take longer."

He turned around just fast enough to see how Lucan was about to throw a glass off the table. "Lucan no." He grabbed the glass from his son's hand, who started crying immediately. Luke put the glass in the middle of the table and kneeled down in front of his son. "You're not supposed to touch the glasses, you know that." Lucan remained crying so Luke pulled him in for a hug. "It's okay buddy. It's okay. Daddy's not mad."

"What did you do to my son?"

Luke stood up with Lucan still in his arms. "He was about to throw a glass on the floor so I told him no."

Lorelai walked towards Luke and took Lucan out of his arms. "You're supposed to behave when you're around your father my son."

Lucan pouted when he placed his head on Lorelai's shoulder.

She shook her head. "You silly boy. Let's get to work okay? Then you can bug Michel."

"I'm sure it's Michel who's teaching him all these things Lorelai. He never misbehaved before."

"Oh come on, he's not misbehaving. He's just testing us and trying to get our attention. That's the age. Wait until the twins are born. It will only get worse."

"That's just great."

"What's with you this morning Mr. Grump?"

"Nothing."

"Uhuh." She placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry okay. I didn't intend to fall back asleep after you woke me up."

"Three times. I tried waking you up three times."

"You could have just gone to the diner while bringing Lucan with you."

"But it's your day to take care of him. Plus, I have a bank appointment at ten."

"Since when?"

"Since yesterday, why?"

"Because we," she pointed at herself and then at her stomach, "have a doctor's appointment at 11."

"Oh damn, I forgot. But I'll be there. I'll just meet you over there okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"I better go now. I'm already an hour late for breakfast rush so I'm sure Lane and Caesar are about to kill me."

"Well, you better stay away from the diner then. I'd like to keep my husband for a while longer."

"Glad to hear. So, I'll meet you at dr. Elder's office at 11?"

"Uhuh, don't forget."

"I won't." He kissed her once more and then kissed Lucan on top of his head. "Behave today little man."

Lucan looked up at his father and smiled.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai walked into the doctor's office, carrying Lucan. The boy protested that he wanted to walk, but she was already running late. When she entered the waiting area, she looked around, searching for Luke. To her surprise he wasn't there. "Damn it. Looks like your daddy is running late as well." She walked towards the reception area to sign in.

"Good morning Lorelai. No Luke today?"

"He was supposed to meet me here. I guess he's running late."

"Well, he'll probably be here soon. We're a little behind on schedule so you have to wait a while longer anyway."

"So I rushed for no reason." She let out a sigh.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Is it okay to use a cell phone in here?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Ok, thanks." Lorelai walked away and put Lucan on the floor. Then she took her cell phone out of her purse and dialed Luke's number. All she got was his voicemail. "Luke it's me. I guess you're still on your way here. You don't answer your phone while driving. Anyway, I'm waiting here at the doctor's office. They're running a little behind so I guess you'll still make it in time. See you soon."

Lorelai sat down and kept an eye on Lucan, who was playing with a toy car on the floor.

Ten minutes later Lorelai was called to come inside. Luke still wasn't there. Lorelai looked around one more time before picking up Lucan and following doctor Elder into her office.

"Good morning Lorelai." Lorelai sat down and so did dr. Elder. "Hello there Lucan." The boy smiled shyly at the doctor. "He's getting bigger every time I see him." She looked around and for the first time she noticed Luke was missing. "Was Luke not able to make it this morning?"

"He was supposed to meet me here, but I guess he's running late at the bank and has to miss it this time."

"That's okay. How have you been feeling the past few weeks?"

"Okay I guess. I'm a little more tired than usual. And the babies are starting to put pressure on my bladder so I have to run to the ladies room like every 15 minutes or so."

Dr. Elder smiled. "That's a normal symptom at this point in your pregnancy."

"I didn't got it with Lucan until much later."

"That's correct, but then there was only one baby inside you, now there are two."

"True."

"So, when you say you've been more tired than usual, how much more are you talking about?"

"It's really hard to stay focused at work for a full day. I fell asleep on my desk three times over the past two weeks. When I come home from work, I'm exhausted. I just have some dinner with Luke and Lucan, then we put him in bed and I feel like doing the exact same thing. It's like 7.30 then. And that's not really normal for me."

"Carrying two babies takes a lot of energy. Are you still working five days?"

"Yeah, but I doubt if I can keep doing that for long."

"I'd advice you to stop doing that immediately. Giving what happened when you were pregnant with Lucan, it'd be best to take it calm. I don't say you can't work at all, but I think 3 mornings a week is more than enough at this point. I know how much you love your work, but you and the babies come first."

"I know. I'll see what I can do. I'll talk to Sookie and Michel when I get back this afternoon."

Dr. Elder nodded. "Also, it's possible that you're a little anemic. I'll draw some blood to see if that's the case. Because if it is you need to take iron pills."

"That won't be bad for the babies?"

"No, it's important that your body stays healthy. We don't want you to go into early labor. Definitely not at this point in your pregnancy."

"Is there a possibility that I can?" Lorelai looked scared.

"There's always a possibility. And because of your age and your history you have a higher risk. That's why I want to start seeing you once every week now. I want to make sure you and the babies stay healthy, and that they stay inside of you as long as possible."

"I agree."

"Good. I want to take your blood pressure now and draw the blood, and then we'll listen to the babies' hearts after that, okay?"

Lorelai nodded, still trying to digest everything doctor Elder just told her.

"Okay Lorelai, why don't you put Lucan on the floor, so you can sit down on the exam table for me."

"Sure." She put Lucan on the floor and handed him some toys. "Be good." She placed a kiss on top of his head and climbed on the exam table. She extended her arm so dr. Elder could take her blood pressure.

"150 over 92. That's a little too high."

"Is that bad?"

"No, but it does make it extra important to take it easy and to monitor your carefully. I want you to come back in a day or two so I can check your blood pressure again. It's possible that it will be back to normal then."

"And if not?"

"Like I said, you have to slow down at work, and even better, stop working at all. You've had a rough couple of months with your mother's breast cancer and it's possible that your body starts reacting now."

Lorelai nodded. "I'll do anything it takes for these babies to stay healthy."

"That's good."

"What can it do to the babies, if my blood pressure stays high?"

"Let's not go there now alright? Worrying will only increase your blood pressure and that's something we don't want. Plus, it's the first time that your blood pressure is a little elevated, so it may be related to stress of some sort."

Lorelai nodded. "I just wish Luke were here."

"Do you want to call him? See what's keeping him?"

"I tried calling him before, but his cell went straight into voicemail."

"You can always try again if you want."

Lorelai nodded again. "I'd like that." She took her cell phone out of her purse and dialed his number. It went straight into voicemail again. "Hey it's me again. I guess you're still on the road. I'm already in the doctor's office so… well just call me if you get the messages okay. Bye."

"Still nothing huh."

Lorelai shook her head. "No. I guess he's either still on the road, or still at the bank."

"Well, let's draw that blood then, so we can listen to the babies' heart beats after that."

"I'd like that." She extended her arm once again and winced when she saw the needle. No matter how many times they had to draw blood, she still didn't like it. Silently she once again wished that Luke were there so he could hold her hand. Like he always did. Now she focused on Lucan who was playing with his small pick-up truck.

"There you are. All done." Dr. Elder put a bandage on the small hole where the needle was before. Just put a little pressure on it, so it won't leave a bruise."

Lorelai did as she was told.

"Okay, why don't you lay down now so we can listen to the babies' heart beats?"

Lorelai lay down and lifted her shirt. Dr. Elder felt the outside of Lorelai's stomach with her hands first, then placed some cold gel and a Doppler machine on her stomach. First she found Lorelai's heart beat and then one of the twin's.

"Nice and strong, just the way we like it."

Lorelai smiled. "How about the other one."

"Let's see where that baby is hiding."

"Trust me, there's no space left for them to hide in there."

Dr. Elder smiled. "There we are." They both listened to the heart beat. "Nice and strong, just like the other baby. They're both perfectly healthy. You can dress and then come back tomorrow so I can check your blood pressure again."

She nodded. "Thanks for everything. I'm sorry though. You're probably even more behind on your schedule than you were before."

"That's not something you have to worry about Lorelai. I take all the time I need with all my patients, okay?"

Lorelai nodded again. "Okay."

"Good." She turned around to face Lucan, who had walked to her supply cabinet and was about to take out some of her syringes. She took his hand away from the cabinet and lifted him up in her arms. "You can't do that. Your mommy brought you toys to play with. Those are mine."

Lucan started crying immediately.

Lorelai stood up and took Lucan from dr. Elder. "I'm so sorry. It's his way of getting attention lately. I already warned Luke this morning that it will only get worse once the twins are born. It's not like he doesn't get enough attention now, but once the attention is taken off of him, he starts doing things he's not allowed to."

"He'll get passed it."

"Yeah I know." She looked at her son. "Stop crying you. You know perfectly well that you're not allowed to touch dr. Elders things. You have your own toys to play with."

He looked at his mother guilty and stopped crying.

"See, he knows perfectly well what he's doing."

Dr. Elder smiled. "And he got you right where he wanted."

"Yeah I know. I guess Luke and I have to start talking about a way to punish him when he's misbehaving, otherwise it will only get worse."

"Well, that's something for the two of you two figure out. For now I'd like to say that we're done here. You have to start thinking about slowing down at work, and preferably stop working at all. Also, ask Sophia for an appointment tomorrow so I can recheck your blood pressure."

Lorelai nodded. "I'll do all that."

"Good. Then I see you tomorrow."

Lorelai nodded again, and kneeled down to get all of Lucan's stuff off the floor. "Say bye bye Lucan."

The little boy waved his hand at dr. Elder.

Lorelai smiled. "Bye."

"Bye."

-xxxxxx-

Once Lorelai had Lucan buckled up in his car seat, she sat down in the driver's seat herself. There she took out her cell phone once again and tried calling Luke. After receiving his voicemail once again, she started to get worried. After leaving another message, she called the diner to see if he checked in there. She was surprised when Luke answered himself.

"Luke's."

"Luke it's me."

"Oh hey. How's it going?"

"I'd better ask you. Where are you?"

"Since you called me at the diner, it's pretty obvious where I am."

"Yeah okay. Let me rephrase. Why are you there?"

"Because I work here. I came straight back after the appointment at the bank."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

She sighed. "Why is your cell phone off?"

"Because it's charging upstairs. What's with you?"

"Just think really hard and I guess you'll figure it out by yourself."

"Lorelai." He sighed. "Are you mad?"

"You bet I am." And with that she hung up. "Ughhh.." She threw her phone back in her purse and turned around to face Lucan, who was looking at her curiously. "Sorry buddy, I just can't believe your father. He forgot about us. Do you believe that?"

Lucan just smiled. "Dada."

"Yeah dada. So, how about we go to grandma because I haven't thought about what to say to Sookie and Michel yet, and I definitely don't want to run into your father right now. My blood pressure is already to high."

"Gama."

"Grandma it is." Lorelai started her car and drove towards her parent's house. Once she arrived there she took Lucan out of his car seat and carried him towards the door. She rang the doorbell and waited for the door to open. She was surprised when her father opened. "Dad?"

"Hello Lorelai." He extended his arms to take Lucan, so she handed him to her.

"Why are you opening the door?"

"Because you rang the door bell Lorelai."

"Okay, but what about the maid?"

"I send her home for a few hours. And your mother is upstairs resting."

"Oh…."

"Do you want to come in anyway?"

"Yes please."

Richard stepped aside to let his daughter in. Then closed the door and followed her inside the living room.

"So, what brings you here?"

"I just had an OB-appointment and I wanted to see how mom was doing."

"She's okay, besides being tired. I send her upstairs half an hour ago, because she almost fell asleep in the car, after I drove her home from her therapy."

"I'm glad tomorrow is the final time. Maybe we can all go out to celebrate tomorrow evening?"

"I don't think that's a good idea Lorelai. All of this has taken a lot of energy. She doesn't want you to worry, but the truth is that she goes to bed at 8 o clock every night."

"She never told me."

"I know. But she does. And often she goes to bed for an afternoon nap. Just like today. The doctor says it can take a few months before she's back to normal."

"Do you think we have to cancel Friday night dinner altogether?"

"No, your mother would never allow that. But maybe it's a good idea to start it at 6."

"Do you think she will allow that? Dinner has been at seven every day for as long as I can remember."

"I'll talk to her. Can you call Rory to let her know?"

"Of course. No problem."

"Good. Now, talking about Rory. Her graduation will be in two weeks, and I want your advice on a gift for her. Your grandmother and I already gave her a car when she graduated from Chilton, so we're wondering what to get her now."

"Well, I don't know. You can always give her a book. You know what she loves."

"You don't give someone a book when she's graduating college Lorelai."

"Oh, well, I don't know. What were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking, since she and Warren will get married, they need a place to live."

"Uhuh…" Lorelai didn't see where her father was going.

"So your grandmother and I have been thinking about giving her a house. Of course we don't know her taste in houses, so we were wondering if maybe you want to help us to find her a nice place."

"Dad no."

"You don't want to help?"

"I don't want you to give my daughter a house. A house you have to earn dad. You have to work hard to buy it."

"But she doesn't have to. We'd be more than willing to help her out."

"I understand, but no."

"She's an adult Lorelai. You can't tell us what we can't give her."

"Then please just listen to me this once. Rory and Warren have been working real hard the past year. They've saved money so they can rent an apartment somewhere. They have to work themselves up. They have to do this by themselves dad. That's what Rory wants too."

"How do you know that?"

"Because it's all she's been talking about the past few weeks. Trust me, she wants to do this herself. She already agreed to let you pay for half the wedding, but that's enough.

"So, what else can we give her? Maybe a new car, although it's a little old since we already gave her one 4 years ago."

"The one she has is just fine dad. She doesn't need a new one. Like I said, just give her some old book you know she loves. It's just about the idea. You've already paid her tuition. That's more than enough. Without you she wouldn't be graduation college right now."

Richard nodded. "I'll think about it."

"Good. Just don't forget what I said. No house and no car. You've already given her more than she needs."

"Okay."

Lorelai smiled and Richard did the same. Just then they heard a crash and the shattering of glass. Lorelai jumped up and saw how Lucan was sitting in the middle of broken glass. She ran towards him and lifted him up. "What did you do?"

Richard kneeled down next to the glass. "I think this was your mother's antique vase."

"Damn it Lucan. You know you're not allowed to touch anything." She looked at her father. "I was going to offer to pay for the vase, but knowing my mother I probably can't afford it."

"It's just a vase. At least no-one is hurt. Your mother will buy some other ugly vase at the next auction she goes to. Don't worry about it. I'm sure Lucan didn't intend to break it."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that if I were you. He started this new game last week. Every time he doesn't get all the attention he starts touching things, and tries throwing it on the floor. This is the first time he actually managed to break something." She sat down with Lucan in her lap and examined his hands. He was crying furiously. "You're fine. No blood, you're not hurt so no reason for crying." She hugged him against her. "Did I ever go through a phase like this? Rory never broke anything on purpose."

"You should ask your mother those things. Although I do remember this one time you broke my 500 dollar fountain pen because I wouldn't play with you. I believe you were three years old at the time. I was working home that day and you came inside my office asking if I would take you outside. I told you that I couldn't because I was working. You sat down across from my desk and asked if you could watch me work. I told you it was okay since you couldn't sit still longer than 5 minutes, and I knew you would be off to play by yourself soon. While I focused on my paperwork you grabbed my fountain pen and broke it in two."

"What were you doing with a 500 dollar pen?"

Richard shook his head. "I should have know you were going to ask that."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, I better get back to Stars Hallow. I have to put Lucan down for a nap and I have to talk to Sookie about my maternity leave."

"Already? Didn't you stop working until the last few weeks when you were pregnant with Lucan?"

"Yeah I did. But my doctor told me to take it easy. To be honest, my bedtime hours haven't been much different than mom's. And I don't want to risk going into early labor. The scare I had with Lucan was enough. If that means I have to lay down for the next three months, so be it."

"If you need any help with Lucan, just call us. I know your mother would love to take care of him."

"Oh dad, if she's already this tired without having to take care of a one-year-old, I don't think it's smart for her to do. Luke can take care of him if I can't. That is, if he doesn't forget about it."

"What are you talking about." Richard sat down on the coffee table, across from his daughter.

Luke forgot about the doctor's appointment. He was supposed to meet me there after the meeting at the bank, but instead he went back to the diner. He didn't even know why I was mad when I called him earlier."

"I'm sure something came up so that he forgot."

"I'm sure something did. But I doubt if that thing is more important than his wife and his children."

"Just let him explain, okay?"

"Maybe, we'll see."

Richard leaned forward and placed a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "You're just as stubborn as your mother."

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks dad. And once again sorry about the vase."

"I doubt if you're mother will even notice it missing."

"She notices it if a maid moves a candle two millimeters. She'll miss the vase."

"True. But she'll understand. I promise."

Lorelai nodded. "I guess I'll go back to Stars Hallow. Lucan's almost asleep already."

"Okay. So we see you tomorrow at six for dinner?"

"Tomorrow at six it is."

-xxxxxx-

"Sookie, do you have a moment?"

"Sure sweetie, what's up?"

"Could we maybe go into my office for a sec?"

"Uh, sure…" Sookie followed Lorelai into her office.

Lorelai placed Lucan in the playpen, and then sat down at her desk.

"How was your doctor's appointment?"

"I'm glad you remember at least."

"What do you mean?"

"Luke forgot about it. He was supposed to meet me there, but he never showed."

"Ouch…."

"Yeah, exactly. So anyway, dr. Elder thinks I have to start taking it slow at work. She doesn't want me to risk going into early labor."

"Sounds reasonable."

"Yeah I think so. I mean, I don't feel like sitting on my but for the next three months, but I definitely don't want anything to happen to the babies."

"So, what's the plan?"

"I think Michel and Claire can run the inn on their own from here. And I was thinking that maybe I can continue doing the paperwork at home. As long as I move all the breakable stuff on a level so that Lucan can't reach it, I can work in the new office at home."

"What did he do this time?"

"He broke my mother's antique vase while I was talking to my dad."

"Was she mad?"

"She was asleep so she doesn't know yet. And I think my dad was actually relieved that he could throw the thing away."

Sookie smiled. "Davie went through the same phase, remember?"

"Yeah I do. He somehow managed to break one of your pans."

"I still don't know how he did it. He was only a year old, but he smacked the thing into the door so hard, that the handle broke off."

"Well, at least the door had nothing."

"My pans are much more important than some stupid door."

Lorelai laughed. "I know honey. Trust me, I know. My dad said I broke his 500 dollar fountain pen when I was three."

"What is someone doing with a 500 dollar pen?"

"Exactly my point!"

-** Back to real-time – **

Luke listened how Lorelai calmed down Lucan. When he was finally quiet, she walked back to their bedroom without saying anything to him. He realized that there was nothing he could do, but to sleep on the couch that night. He took a blanket from the closet and lay down together with his pillow. He was twisting and turning for almost an hour, when he finally fell into a restless sleep.

"Luke?"

Luke slowly opened his eyes, staring into Lorelai's tearful eyes. He sat up immediately. "Lorelai?"

"I'm sorry." She let out a small sob.

Luke opened his arms immediately. "I'm sorry too." He took her in his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry I forgot about the appointment. Everything at the bank went so weird. First they made me wait for half an hour, and then they just wanted to sell me a new mortgage. I was pissed off because they made me come all the way over there for nothing. I thought something was wrong with the diner."

"But don't you know how much money you make? Don't you go over that with your accountant?"

"Of course I do. But I thought that maybe we missed something. It sounded like they were rushed yesterday. Like I had to get there soon. I was just worried."

"And you didn't tell me this why?"

"I didn't want you to worry too Lorelai."

She shook her head and let out a sigh. "You're an idiot."

"I know. I'm so sorry Lorelai. I'll promise to never miss an appointment again. When is your next appointment?"

"Tomorrow." Her voice was muffled in his shoulder, so he wasn't sure if he heard right.

"What?"

"Tomorrow." She raised her head this time, so he knew he heard right.

"Why?"

"Because my blood pressure was too high today and they want to check it again." She put her head back down.

"Is that dangerous for the babies?"

"It could be I guess. She wouldn't really tell. She just said that I have to come back tomorrow and that it can be back to normal. She also said that I have to take things slower at work, or else I might go into early labor."

He cursed inwardly once again when he heard everything he missed. "I'm so sorry you had to go there alone Lorelai."

She nodded. "I was scared Luke. I was so scared that something was wrong with the babies. That something would happen to them. And they had to draw some blood and you weren't there to hold my hand. And I was just scared."

He hold her closer. "I'm so sorry. Now I understand why you were so mad."

"I overreacted, didn't I?"

"No, you had every right to be mad. It was important and I wasn't there."

"But I still overreacted. I should have just told you what happened. I was just so mad that you forgot about me and the babies. And my stupid pregnant brain thought that maybe…."

"Maybe what?"

She buried her face deeper in his shoulder "That maybe you didn't care about us anymore."

He shook his head and pushed her back a little so he could look directly into her eyes. "There's nothing I care about more than you and our kids Lorelai. I'm really really sorry I wasn't there for you today."

She nodded. "It's okay. I'm not mad anymore. I'm sure my blood pressure will be better tomorrow. And I already talked to Sookie. I won't be going to the inn to work anymore. Not until after the twins are born. The only thing I will be doing is some paperwork. But I'll be doing that here at home, in our fancy new office."

"I'm glad you decided to do that."

She nodded. "God I'm tired."

"Me too. The bank is not comfortable to sleep on."

"Well, at least you were sleeping earlier when I came down. I haven't slept at all."

"But you were in our bed?"

"I just can't sleep without you next to me. I can't even punish you without punishing myself too."

He smiled. "That's good to know."

"Just keep in mind that it won't keep me from punishing you when you do something stupid."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Good."

She put her head on his shoulder and dozed off to sleep.

"Lorelai come on. Let's go to bed."

"Can't walk. I'm too tired."

With a smile he lifted her up in his arms and carried her to their bed. He laid her down and laid down next to her. She placed her head on top of his chest immediately. He placed a kiss on her forehead. "Night Lorelai."

"Goodnight Luke."

After a few seconds she lifted her head. "Hey Luke?"

"Mmmm…" He was almost asleep already.

"We have to think of a way to punish Lucan. If we keep hugging him if he does something wrong, he never learns the difference between doing something good and doing something bad."

"What did he do today?"

"He broke my mother's antique vase."

"How much?"

"My dad said not to worry about it. Which is probably better, because I'm not sure if Lucan can go to college if we have to pay for that vase."

"He really has to stop that."

"Exactly my point. So, what's your idea of punishing him?"

"I think that maybe it's best to put him in the playpen and not to give him any attention."

"That's an idea, but if that becomes his place for punishment, we can't put him there for any other reason anymore."

"You have a point there."

"Uhuh.." She smiled.

"I'm too tired to think about it now. We'll deal with it tomorrow okay?"

"Sounds like the best idea you've had all day." She turned on her side so she was comfortable and Luke did the same, pulling her against his chest and resting his hand on her stomach. And soon they were both asleep.

**T.B.C.**


	26. Friday night dinner

_A/N: I'm very sorry that I haven't updated in a long time again. Summer is just a crazy period. Let's leave it to that. But school started again, although I won't be inside the building to much. I started my graduation project and if all goes okay, I'll be graduating college in Februari. How cool is that :D _

_So anyway, I finished another chapter. On special request this chapter will contain Friday night dinner. It continues the day after the previous chapter, in which Lorelai had a doctor's appointment and had a high blood pressure. She also had a fight with Luke because he forgot the appointment and she visited her father who wants to give Rory a house as a graduation gift and Lucan broke his grandmother's vase when he didn't got enough attention. And well, you'll find out soon enough what's in this one. Enjoy it and please leave me a review when you're finished!_

**Chapter 26 Friday night dinner**

"Lucan NO!" Lorelai watched how her son threw one of his cars towards the television. Fortunately the car missed the TV screen by a few centimeters, but managed to hit the candle standing next to it. She couldn't respond fast enough to prevent the candle from falling on the floor and shattering into small pieces. She stood up and watched the scene in shock for a few seconds before she kneeled down in front of Lucan. She took both his hands in hers and said "You are not allowed to throw your toys away." Her voice was slightly raised and firm and the little boy looked at his mother in shock for a few seconds before he started crying. Her first instinct was to take him in her arms and to comfort him, but she realized that was just what he wanted all along, so she pushed him away. It broke her heart just a little bit to do so, but he had to learn that this was not the right way to ask for attention.

She stood up and walked to the shattered glass and started picking it up. Lucan had followed her though and hold her leg tight while he cried. She dropped the glass on the floor and freed herself from her son. "No. I'm not picking you up when you're crying." This confused him even more, so he started crying louder. At the exact same moment Luke entered the house. Lucan looked up at his father and ran off towards him. Just before he could kneel down to pick him up, Lorelai said. "No, leave him."

Luke looked at her confused. "But he's crying."

"I know. I was watching TV while he was playing on the floor. Apparently he didn't got enough attention so he threw one of his cars towards the television. He missed the TV, but managed to hit a candle."

Luke looked down at the floor and saw the broken glass. He smiled slightly. "He'll make it to the football team one day."

"Don't laugh. This is serious Luke. Yesterday it was my mother's vase, and now it's one of our candle holders. What's coming next?"

"I don't know." He ignored Lucan who was clinging to his leg, crying for his dada.

"I've thought about how to punish him. Putting him in the playpen isn't an option because A, we want to be able to put him in there when we can't have him walking around, plus B, not everywhere we go is a playpen to put him in. And since he's trying to get our attention, I think the best thing to do is getting down on his level, telling him what he did wrong and then just ignore him."

"But we can't just ignore him."

"Why not? I mean, we're not really ignoring him because we have to see what he's doing next. He can't knock down more stuff. But it is working because right now he's crying so furiously only because he's realizing that he's not getting the attention he wants. He has to calm down first, and then we can pick him up."

"I don't know."

"Why don't you clean up the glass, and I'll deal with him? We have to leave in 15 minutes and we can't be late."

He nodded. "Okay."

Lorelai stood up and walked towards Lucan. She kneeled down in front of him and detached him from his father. "You have to stop crying sweetie."

"Mama." He sat down on the floor and started sobbing. "Mama."

Lorelai stood up and glanced at Luke with tears in her eyes. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe this wasn't the right approach after all. But after a few minutes Lucan's crying subsided and eventually it stopped at all. He stood up and walked towards his toys and picked up his stuffed bear. With the bear in his arms he walked towards Lorelai. "Mama."

Lorelai looked down at her son with a smile. She kneeled down next to him. "What do you have there?"

"Buh."

"A bear. Yeah, that's a bear." She took her son in her arms and kissed him on top of his head. "Good boy." She put him back on the floor and stood up.

Luke watched the scene with open mouth. He hadn't expected the ignoring technique to work, but once Lucan realized that he wasn't getting his parent's attention by crying, he just gave up and went back to playing. "You're amazing."

Lorelai just raised her shoulders. "I saw it on one of those TV shows this morning. It worked there so I thought, why shouldn't it work for us? But it's harder than I thought because, man it's hard to let him cry."

He nodded. "But I guess that if we don't do anything now, it'll only get worse."

"Yeah exactly. I guess this is the only way to get through this new phase of his. When he gets older we can find other ways of punishing him, but right now he just needs to learn what he can do and can't do."

Luke nodded. "Well, I threw away all the glass. All we have to do now is vacuum, but I think we can better do that when we get back."

"Okay."

Lorelai went to get hers and Lucan's coat and kneeled down next to him again. "Come here boy." Lucan stood up and walked the last few steps towards his mother, the bear still tight in his arms. Lorelai smiled. "Can you give mommy the bear so I can put your coat on?"

He hugged the bear against his chest.

"Can mommy hold the bear for you?" She tried to take the bear from his strong grip.

"No. Buh."

Luke laughed. "He's never going to give you the bear."

"I can't put you in your coat Lucan. Come on, we have to leave now."

Luke shook his head in laughter as Lucan still refused to give the bear away. He kneeled down next to Lorelai and took the bear from Lucan's hands. He started crying immediately but Lorelai managed to get him in his coat. Once the zipper was closed Luke handed Lucan the bear back. "Hey that wasn't so bad now was it?"

Lucan didn't say anything. He just hugged the bear tight against him.

-xxxxxx-

Lucan had fallen asleep even before they left Stars Hallow. The boy was exhausted from all the crying he had done that morning. When Luke parked the car he took Lucan out of his car seat and the little boy remained sleeping. They entered dr. Elder's office and checked in. It didn't took long before dr. Elder called them inside.

"Hello Lorelai, Luke." They all sat down. "He's a lot quieter than yesterday." She pointed at Lucan.

"Yeah. He broke a candle holder just before we left and that was exhausting for the both of us."

She raised her eyebrows. "How so?"

"Well, he has to learn that this is not the right way to get our attention. And I've thought about the best way to punish him and I came up with ignoring him. Of course that came with a lot of crying which was physically exhausting for him and emotionally for me, because I had to learn not to give in to his crying. And that's pretty hard."

"I can imagine. But as long as it's working."

"It is."

"Good. So, how are you feeling today, besides the situation with Lucan?"

"Okay. Luke let me sleep in this morning. He took Lucan to work and I picked him up when I went over there for breakfast. I've decided to take time off at work completely. I won't be going back until after the twins are born. I could never forgive myself if anything went wrong."

"That's a good decision. And you'll learn to enjoy it."

"Yeah, I think I will. Plus, when I feel like working I can do the paperwork from home. And I can always go over there for a cup of tea or something. But I don't want to create the situation I was in with Lucan."

"That's a very wise decision. I think you won't regret it. Now, let's check your blood pressure, since that's why you're here for."

Lorelai nodded. "I hope it's better than yesterday."

"We'll know soon." Dr. Elder attached the blood pressure monitor to Lorelai's left arm. 125 over 80. That's a perfect blood pressure."

"It is?"

"Absolutely. That means that we don't have to worry about yesterday's blood pressure. It was probably just stress related. I do want to see you once a week now so we can monitor everything carefully."

"We'll make an appointment on our way out."

"That's good. Do you have any questions for now?"

"No, I don't think so. Luke?"

He shook his head. "I can't think of anything."

"Good. Then take it slowly and I'll see you guys next week."

Lorelai nodded. "Thank you."

-xxxxxx-

"My parents want to give Rory a house when she's graduating college." Luke and Lorelai were on their way to Friday night dinner.

"What?"

"I know. That's what I said. They already gave her a car when she graduated high school and now she and Warren are getting married, they want to buy her a house."

"But that's crazy."

"I know. That's what I told them. I tried to explain to my father that I want Rory to work for it. A house is a big thing. I know that they will make enough money to rent an apartment and if they can't manage, we'll help them out. But I don't want everything to go easy for her. I mean, is that selfish?"

"Why would it be?"

"Because I worked hard for everything myself."

"Your parents would have bought everything for you if you'd let them."

"I know. I never wanted their help, and now I'm refusing them to help Rory. Am I a bad mother because of that?"

"I don't think so."

"I worked really hard to buy that house for us. I know we've been living in a potting shed for 10 years before that, but we were doing just fine. I don't think I was a bad mother because we didn't live in a real house. Plus, it was even more special when I finally could buy that house for us. I want all our kids to learn that you have to work hard when you want to reach something. And I know she worked real hard at school and now she's graduating college."

"Uhuh…"

"Maybe I am selfish. It's very nice of my parents that they want to help her out. The truth is that I would buy her a house myself if I could, but I can't. So maybe that's why I won't let my parents buy her a house. Because I can't, they can't either."

"That's ridicules."

"I know. Maybe I should just tell them that it's okay."

"You don't believe that's the right thing to do."

She shook her head. "No I don't. But it's really nice of them that they want to help her out."

"It is nice, but you're right. She has to learn how to do things by herself. Your parents won't always be around to help her."

"Exactly. Plus, if they buy a house for Rory now, what about their other grandchildren?"

"They're way to young to live on their own. The twins aren't even born yet."

"I know that. But one day they'll be old enough to own their own houses. And they will expect my parents to buy them a house too. I don't want that."

"I agree. It's very nice of them, but if they want to help her in some way, they just have to think of something else."

"Exactly. So, what will we buy her?"

He raised his shoulders.

"You're no help. The ceremony is two weeks from now."

"So you have two weeks to think of something. I can't imagine you have nothing in mind anyway. The two of you have been working towards this moment for so long. You must have thought of something."

"Mmm… yeah maybe that's true." She smiled lightly. "Oh look, we're here."

Luke parked the car. "Yeah we are." He shook his head as he got out of the car and opened the back door. He unbuckled Lucan and took the boy out of the car seat. He hung the diaper bag over his shoulder. "Tell me later."

"I will." She smiled again.

The walked to the door and Lorelai rang the door bell. The maid opened. "Hello Mr. Danes, Mrs. Danes."

"Hello Sophia." They handed their coats to the maid. "Are my parents in the living room?"

"Your father and your daughter and her fiancée are. Your mother is upstairs."

"Okay thank you." They entered the living room. "Hello everyone."

"Hello Lorelai, Luke." Richard stood up to take Lucan from Luke. "Hello Lucan."

"Hey mom, Luke."

"Hey."

They sat down. "Where's mom?"

"She's upstairs."

"Is she okay?"

"She just needed a few minutes for herself. She should be down soon."

"Do you mind if I go upstairs to check on her?"

Richard shook his head.

Lorelai stood up and climbed the stairs. She stopped when she reached her parent's bedroom and knocked on the door. "Mom?"

"Go away."

Lorelai opened the door and saw how her mother was sitting on the bed facing the window. From the way her shoulders were shaking she could tell her mother was crying. Lorelai ran the last few steps and sat down next to her mother. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Emily shook her head. "I just need a few minutes."

"What happened?"

"Nothing really. It's stupid."

"What is? Talk to me mom."

Emily wiped away her tears. "I just feel so stupid. I'm tired all the time. I mean, I had to invite you over an hour early. We never had dinner at 6 before. And your father, I'm going to bed at 8 o clock every day. The only time we spend together normally, I spend in bed?"

"It doesn't matter mom. So what if you're tired? All that matters to us is that you're going to be okay. And to be honest, the past two weeks or so there's not one night I've gone to bed after nine. And do you think Luke cares about that? Most of the time he goes to bed with me, and trust me when I say that there's nothing else happening in there than sleeping."

Emily looked at her daughter with tears in her eyes. "Do you think that it will change?"

"Of course. The truth is that you're sick. What do you expect? That nothing changes? That's stupid mom. It's totally understandable that you're tired. And you just have to think of yourself or else it's only going to get worse. You have to go to bed when you're tired or else you're going to be a wreck the following day. If you have visitors, you either kick them out or you leave them alone with dad. And if they don't like that it's their problem."

"It's not that simple Lorelai."

"It is mom. If you haven't learned that over the past year, it's about time you learn it now. If they don't understand, they're not really your friends mom. Nobody should expect anything from you right now, besides the truth. It's all I expect anyway. I love you mom, and so do dad and Rory and Lucan and Luke and Warren. We care about you mom, and we want you to be honest with us, and most of all with yourself. So don't worry about dinner being an hour early. I'm really hungry already anyway. Carrying twins does that to you." She smiled.

"Your father said that your blood pressure was high yesterday."

"Yeah, but I went back today and today it was completely normal. It was probably just stress. We both know I had enough of that. Plus, Luke didn't make it to the appointment and I was a little fed up over that."

Emily smiled.

"Okay, a lot." Lorelai smiled now too. "But all that matters is that they are okay. I decided to stop working. I went to the inn after the appointment yesterday and said that I'm not coming back. I'll be doing some paperwork at home, and they have to do the rest. And if they can't make it, I'll hire someone else, because all that matters is that the twins will be born when they are ready and that they will be healthy. I'll miss work, but if I have to lay in bed for the next 3 months in order for them to get born around the due date, that's what I'll do. But fortunately if I don't work anymore, and just take it easy, that won't be necessary."

Emily nodded.

"And mom?"

"What is it?"

"If you're bored at home, just call me. Because it'd be so much more fun to do absolutely nothing together."

Emily smiled. "I'd like that."

"Good. So, are you ready to go downstairs now? I think they're starting to wonder what we're doing up here."

"Yeah, let's go downstairs."

-xxxxxx-

They were all sitting at the dinner table half an hour later. Sophia just served dinner. Lucan was sitting in a high chair in between Luke and Lorelai and Rory and Warren were sitting at the other side of the table. Richard and Emily were both sitting in their regular seats.

"So Rory. Are you ready for graduation?" Richard looked at his granddaughter.

"Yeah. I finished everything this week so all I have to do now is wait for the results. I'll probably get them back next week and if everything is okay, I'll get my diploma two weeks from now."

"Have you thought about the gift you want for your graduation?"

"Grandpa, you don't have to give me anything. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be graduating college right now."

"Nonsense." Emily looked at her granddaughter. "You're graduating college only once in your life. That asks for a special gift." She looked at Richard who glanced at Lorelai in return. Ignoring the way she looked at him he nodded slightly. "Your grandfather and I are thinking about buying you a house."

Rory looked at her grandmother in shock, and then turned to look at her grandfather. "What?"

"A house. You and Warren are getting married so you need a place to live."

Slightly recovering from the shock, Rory stammered. "You don't have to buy me a house."

"But we want to."

Rory turned to look at Warren for help, but he just shrugged his shoulders. She shook her head. "No, grandma no. We're going to be fine. Warren has another year at Yale and I'm going to get a job so I can pay for an apartment."

"But you don't have to live in an apartment. We're more than willing to help you out."

Rory nodded and looked at her mother for help.

"Mom, I've talked to dad about this yesterday. Rory and Warren are doing fine on their own. They don't want your help."

"Then I want Rory to tell me that."

"I just did grandma. I really really appreciate that you want to help us out here, but it's something I want to do on my own."

"So you can live in a filthy old apartment? They have the size of an old shack."

"So that's what this is all about." Lorelai stood up. "I was 17 years old mom and I needed a place to live."

"You had a place to live Lorelai."

Lorelai shook her head. "I can't believe we're going to do this again." She turned to look at Luke. "Can you please take Lucan out of the room. I don't want him to hear this."

Luke shook his head and turned to look at Warren. "Would you mind?"

"No of course not." Warren stood up and walked around the table where Lucan was sitting in his high chair. "Come on buddy, let's go for a walk."

Lucan lifted his arms in the air happily.

Warren lifted Lucan out of the chair and put him on his hip. "We're in the backyard if anyone is looking for us."

Lorelai nodded and turned to look at her mother again. "I know that I was living here, but I didn't feel at home. I need a place for Rory and me and Mia gave me one."

"An old potting shed."

"Yeah. And tell you what. That place was more a home to me than this house has ever been. I lived there because it was the only place I could afford at the time. And tell you what, I did great. It was a great place. I put up flower wallpaper and sewed curtains. And after working hard for a long time I was able to afford a real house. But Rory doesn't have to live in a potting shed anymore mom. She can afford a real apartment and you're judging without even knowing where Rory and Warren are planning on living." She shook her head.

"There was no need for you to live in a shed Lorelai. We would have helped you out."

"You wouldn't have allowed me to live on my own back then. You wouldn't have accepted that I wanted to do it by myself."

"You don't know that."

"But mom I do know that." Lorelai's voice shook. "I do know that mom" She felt that she was losing control of herself and turned around and walked away without saying another worth.

Luke looked how Lorelai left the room and wanted to follow her right away, but turned around instead. "I don't understand how it got to this. You've both been through so much and you've been without fights for so long. I understand you had your problems, but this is not the right time to fight. You need her and she needs you. The last thing she needs right now is to get fed up. Her blood pressure was high enough as it was yesterday. She will never forgive you if anything happens to the babies." And with that he turned around to follow Lorelai.

Emily sank down in her chair. "I didn't mean for this to happen." She looked at Rory helplessly. "All I want is what's best for you."

Rory shook her head. "Grandma, I already have everything that I want. I'm graduating college and I'm getting married. There's nothing else I want."

"But…"

"No. Listen to me. I know how it seems that we lived in a potting shed, but really, it was a great place to grow up. I had a roof over my head. It was a safe place and I could see my mom wherever I went. And we were at the inn a lot. We ate there, I helped mom when she was working." Rory smiled at the memories. "I can say, without a doubt, that there's no place where I would have rather lived than the place where I grew up. When we first moved into the house, I was afraid. It was so huge and I wasn't used to it. Of course it was great to have my own room at that age, but I really missed our old home. It took me a few months before I was used to it."

"But…"

Rory raised her hand. "I'm not done yet. Grandma, I know that you want what's best for me. And I really appreciate that, but there are some things I have to do on my own. Just like my mom did. You have no idea how grateful I am for everything you've done for me. Without you guys I wouldn't be graduating right now. I wouldn't have spend a year in London and I wouldn't have met Warren. I will never forget everything you've done for me and if I need your help with anything, I'll let you know. But right now I'm doing fine. Honestly, I have a job interview on Monday."

"You do?"

She nodded. "Yeah. At the New Haven Independent. I know that it's not really big or anything, but it is a writer's job. It's great for experience and it will only get better after that. I don't know how many people they are interviewing, but they sounded very positive over the phone."

"They'd be crazy not to hire you." Richard smiled at his granddaughter. "I'm very proud of you Rory. And if you say that you want to do it yourself, your grandmother and I will respect that."

Rory turned to look at her grandmother who nodded. "I'm sorry Rory."

"That's okay. I think you have to go talk to my mother though. I'm going to see how Warren is doing."

Emily watched how Rory stood up and then looked at Richard. "We should have listened to Lorelai."

He nodded. "It's too late for that now. Rory's is right, you should talk to her."

"I will."

She stood up and walked up the stairs and knocked on Lorelai's old bedroom door. There was no response at first, then she heard some voices and after that she heard how someone walked to the door. It opened and Luke stepped outside.

"Please don't pick another fight with her."

"I won't." She went inside and saw how Lorelai wiped away a few tears. She cursed inwardly. "Can I come in?"

Lorelai nodded.

Emily walked inside and sat down on the bed next to Lorelai. "I'm so sorry for the things I said. I had no right."

Lorelai shook her head. "I thought we were past this mom. I thought that you made peace with everything. I thought we were not doing this anymore."

"I know. So did I. I have no idea why I said what I did. I just want what's best for Rory."

"So do I mom. She's my daughter."

Emily nodded. "I just don't understand why you're so against this."

Lorelai took in a shaky breath. "I've been asking myself the same question for the past two days. And I keep coming up with the same thing. I had to fight for everything I reached, and that made me the person I am today. If Rory gets everything from you and dad, she won't be able to do that. She won't have the chance to develop herself into something she can be. She needs the experience of doing things herself. I want her to feel it mom. I want her to feel the pride you feel when you buy your first house. I want her to have that mom."

Emily nodded. "Okay. Then I'll respect that. Rory made it very clear that this is something she wants to do by herself. I guess that means that your father and I have to think of something else to buy her."

Lorelai nodded. "Are we okay?"

"Absolutely. I'm sorry for what I said Lorelai, I really am. Do you know that I saw the shed you lived in?"

Lorelai shook her head.

"Rory was 16 when she gave me a tour around Stars Hallow. She showed me the inn and the potting shed. My breath got stuck in my throat when I saw where you lived for so many years. You deserved so much better."

"But you're wrong about that mom. It was the best place I could have ever lived. I will never forget living there and it breaks my heart that it doesn't exists anymore. It was my first home mom, and I wouldn't have missed that experience for the world. I know that to you it seems so much less than it was. It just breaks my heart that you can't understand how much that place meant to me, and how hard it is that I have to keep defending myself and the choices I made back then. But really, what it does it matter now? There wouldn't be any place in the world where I'd rather be then exactly where I am now mom. And all the experiences that it took me to get here, I wouldn't have missed them either because I am who I am because of it. I made mistakes. There were bad moments, but more than anything there are good memories. It makes me sad that I can't share them with you though. Not without being judged."

Emily shook her head. "I don't want to judge you Lorelai. I'm proud of who you are and what you did with your life. I just feel like it could have been so much easier for you."

"And that's exactly what I'm trying to tell you mom. I didn't want easy. That's just not me."

Emily nodded as she tried to understand what her daughter was saying. And then she smiled, realizing that even though they are so different from each other, they are also very much alike. "My parents never gave me much when I was a kid and I promised myself that if I could, I would give my children everything. I didn't want you to have the life I had Lorelai. I wanted to protect you from that. I wanted you to wear the beautiful dresses I wanted to have as a child. I wanted you to have all the dolls I liked so much as a child. I wanted you to have so much more than I ever had. I never realized that what I wanted for you wasn't what you wanted. I didn't understood why you didn't want it. But I think I understand now why you made the choices you made. Like I created a better life for myself when I married your father, you created the life you always dreamed of for you and Rory and you want her to do the same things. I'm sorry I didn't realized that sooner." Emily placed a hand on her daughter's knee. "I'm so sorry Lorelai. For everything, especially this fight. I hope I didn't put you and the babies in any danger by aggravating you."

Lorelai placed one hand on her stomach and one hand on top of her mother's. "They're fine. We all are."

"Are you sure?" Emily looked at her in concern.

"Positive. You can feel it yourself." She lifted Emily's hand and placed it on her stomach. "Do you feel that?"

"They're kicking against my hand." Emily smiled widely.

Lorelai nodded, her smile as big as her mother's. "I was so worried about them yesterday when my blood pressure was so high. I'm so glad that it was back to normal okay."

Emily nodded and moved her hand so she could feel the other baby. "Your father thought you were a boy when you were still in my stomach. He thought you would become a soccer player."

Lorelai laughed out loud. "He couldn't have been more wrong."

"I woke up every morning because you were kicking against my stomach or against my bladder. Then one morning I woke up and I realized I felt nothing. I excepted it to come later, but over an hour later I still hadn't felt you moved and I panicked. I went to emergency room and demanded someone to check me out. They made me wait for half an hour, and those were the hardest 30 minutes of my life. When they finally called me in they put one of those things on my stomach so I could hear your heartbeat. I never cried so hard in my life as the moment I heard the sound of the strong beating of your heart filling the room at that moment. And soon after that you started kicking again. Before I complained when you kicked me and even hurt me sometimes, but never again after that. I was so grateful for the feeling."

"I had that when I went into early labor with Lucan last year. Before I had complained that I couldn't wait for him to come out, but I've never been more scared before in my life. It was too early, and even though he probably would have been okay, even it he had been born that day, I wanted nothing more than to keep him inside me."

"And you did."

Lorelai nodded and without any notice her eyes filled with tears again. She wiped them away immediately, but Emily already saw them.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing really. I'm just being crazy."

"You never are Lorelai."

Lorelai chuckled. "Think about how many times you've told me that I was acting crazy." She shook her head while she laughed and wiped away the tears. "Are we okay mom?"

Emily nodded. "Absolutely."

"Good."

Lorelai let out a sigh and placed her head against her mother's shoulder. "Hey mom?"

"Mmmm…"

"I know what you and dad can give Rory."

"What's that?"

"A trip to Fez."

Emily looked at her curiously.

"When Rory was 16 all she could talk about was going to Fez. But she never went, even though dad gave her several checks to add for her trip. So I was thinking, maybe that's a nice gift. A trip so she can finally go to Fez."

"You think she would like that?"

"She would love it. I think she'd be honored that you and dad remembered."

"I'll talk to your father about it. I think he'll like the idea as well."

"Good."

"How about we go downstairs? You haven't eaten anything yet so you must be hungry."

"I am." She climbed off the bed and together they walked downstairs. Warren and Richard were playing with Lucan on the floor, and Luke was chatting with Rory. He stood up immediately when he saw Lorelai approaching. Lorelai nodded at Emily that it was okay for her to go in the living room, while she and Luke walked into the hallway.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"And your mother?"

"We've talked about it and she apologized."

He nodded and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm sorry this happened tonight."

"It's okay. I just never realized that my mother was still holding things against me. But we've talked about it and we're okay now. I think that some things will never be perfect between us, and it kind of shocked me to realize that. But at least now we're able to talk about it and we listen to each other when we try to explain how we feel. And that's so many steps forward… It will never be a 100 okay, but I think that's impossible anyway. They say that when you fight, it means you care right? You and I fight, and even Rory and I fight sometimes. And if you see the difference between how it is now and how it used to be, I couldn't be happier."

"I'm glad to hear that." He pulled back a little and leaned in to kiss her. When he pulled away he put his arm around. "Let's get something to eat now."

"That's the best idea I've heard all night."

He chuckled and together they walked into the living room to find everybody else.

T.B.C.


	27. A little bit of romance

_A/N: It's been a little bit longer than I'd wanted, but there's always something coming up. At least the chapter is finished now. I hope you'll all like it, and please leave me a review to let me know if you do! Jessi, this one is for you!_

**Chapter 27 – A little bit of romance **

"Hey Sookie."

"Oh hey." Sookie looked up from her work and stared in her best friends eyes. "How are you doing?"

"Just fine."

"And the babies?"

Lorelai smiled. "Still in there."

"Good. Good. And Lucan?" She pointed at the boy that was sleeping in his stroller.

"He's great. He's already starting to learn the right ways of getting attention. My new techniques really work, to Luke's surprise."

Sookie laughed. "That's great. And Rory? Stressed out already?"

Lorelai shook her head. "She has nothing to be stressed out about. She'll be getting her diploma exactly one week from now."

"Everything went fine?"

"Absolutely!"

Sookie started jumping up and down, squealing. "That's amazing. I'm so proud at her. Our little girl is graduating college."

Lorelai smiled widely. "Uhuh." Then she shook her head at the enthusiasm of her friend.

"Aren't you happy? Why aren't you jumping?"

"Of course I'm happy. But I don't think jumping up and down matches taking it easy."

Sookie stood still. "Oh yeah…"

"But that doesn't mean that you can't jump up and down!"

Sookie smiled. "Good. But em… I guess I better get back to work."

"Ok. I'll talk to you later okay?"

Sookie nodded. "Just don't forget to take it easy."

"I won't." She walked away and went to the front desk. "Hello Michel."

"Hello Lorelai. Shouldn't you be sleeping right now?"

"Taking it easy doesn't mean that I have to sleep all the time. How are things going around here?"

"Perfect. We do not need you running around for things to go well. We manage very well without you."

"Good." Lorelai didn't show him how his sarcasm made her really feel. "Is there anything I can do? Maybe bring home some paperwork?"

"That is not necessary. We are doing very well without you. You've got nothing to be worried about."

"I know that I don't have to worry. But I'd love to help out."

"I have nothing for you. Sorry."

"Fine." She turned around and saw Claire walking by. "Clair. Wait."

Clair turned around and looked at her boss. "Lorelai, hey. How are you doing."

"She is fine." Michel replied.

She turned around and shot him an angry look. Then she walked towards Clair. "I'm okay. Just a little bit bored at home. I was wondering if there's any paperwork I have to bring home."

Claire shook her head. "We have everything under control. I just finished all the paperwork yesterday."

"Oh…. That's good. Thanks." Silently she added, 'I guess.' "Well, if there's anything, don't hesitate to call me."

"We won't. But I don't think that'll be necessary. We're doing great. You should just give all the attention to Lucan now, because once the twins are born you won't able to focus on him too much."

Lorelai nodded. "I will."

"Well, eh…. If you don't mind I go back to work. I still have a few things to do before lunch."

"Of course. I don't want to keep you." She watched how Clair walked away and looked around her inn. Everything seemed fine. They were doing perfectly fine without her. With a sigh she looked at her son in his stroller. He was still sleeping. "Let's go see your dad." She whispered.

-xxxxxx-

"Hey." Luke smiled when he saw Lorelai entering the diner.

"Hi." She leaned over the counter to kiss him.

He smiled and looked down at the stroller. "He's sleeping."

"Yeah. He fell asleep before we were past Babette's house and he's still sleeping."

"Well, it's not that long."

"We've been at the inn first."

He put a cup of tea in front of her. "How were things going around there?"

She shrugged. "Perfect. They didn't need me for anything. Claire already finished this month's paperwork so I don't even have to do that."

"Well that's good."

"Uhuh." She sighed.

"You're not happy." He noticed.

"Well, I should be right? I mean, they're doing a great job around there. I can stay home with a safe heart that the place will be still standing and running when I get back."

He placed his hand on top of hers. "But you're just feeling a little bit useless."

"Yeah, I mean, I know that this is what's best for the twins. I would lie down in bed for the rest of the pregnancy if I had to. But still….. yeah."

"I understand. I guess you just have to get used to it. You're used to a busy schedule. Working at the inn, taking care of Lucan, doing things around the house."

She smiled while shaking her head. "What kind of things do I do around the house?"

"Well, you do laundry sometimes. When you have nothing left in your closet. And when you have some important papers to fill out, you clean the table. And you clean up Lucan's toys when I don't do it and…."

She hit his shoulder. "I get it. I'm a horrible housewife."

"But you're my horrible housewife." He pulled her over the counter and kissed her. "And I love you for that."

" I love you too."

"So, what are your plans for today?"

She raised her shoulders. "There's nothing for me to do really. I mean, I have no paperwork so I don't have to clean the table…."

"Sorry." He smiled. "But it's true."

"It is true. I'm so sorry that you have to put up with me Luke. You have to do everything. You have to clean up behind me. You have to cook. And once the twins are born it's going to be even worse. Maybe you should find yourself a different wife."

"I don't want anyone but you. You know that. I love taking care of you Lorelai. And I don't mind cleaning and cooking. I like to do those things. And really, it's not as bad as we make it sound. You do plenty of things."

She nodded. "Yeah you're right. And since I stopped working for now, I have all the time to become a good housewife. I can vacuum the rooms downstairs and…"

"You're not going to vacuum. You're not going to lift anything heavier than a towel."

"Well, have fun with your son then."

He looked at her, confused.

"He's much heavier than a towel. He can walk by himself, but definitely don't climb the stairs and things like that…."

He sighed, knowing that she was right. "Just take it easy okay?"

"I'll leave the vacuuming to you."

"Good." He thought for a moment. "Why don't you call Rory and see if she wants to hang out with you this afternoon. Maybe watch a movie or something? Then I'll take care of Lucan."

She smiled. "I like that." She took her cell phone out of her purse and looked at Luke, trying to figure out if she could get away with calling inside the diner. Risking it she dialed Rory's number and waited for her daughter to pick up, while smiling at Luke who just shook his head in response.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai was watching TV while Lucan was playing on the floor. He was playing with some of his cars, and completely focused on his game. Lorelai watched him occasionally, making sure he wasn't doing anything he's not supposed to do. She was just about to switch channels again when the doorbell rang.

"Rory, you know you don't have to ring the bell. Come in." She yelled, not wanting to get up.

Lucan looked up from his game and stared at his mother. "Owy?"

When the doorbell rang again she raised her shoulders. "I guess not." She stood up and walked to the door. "Stay there." She turned to her son before she opened the door.

"Flower delivery for Mrs. Danes."

"I'm Mrs. Danes."

The flower delivery guy smiled. "Then you have to sign here." He handed her a clipboard and pointed out where she had to put her signature.

"Who are they from?"

"There's a card."

With a wide smile Lorelai took the flowers from the man. "Thank you."

"You're welcome ma'am." And with that he walked away.

Lorelai walked inside while smelling the huge bouquet of roses. She saw that Lucan had gone up in his game again, so she walked into the kitchen. She placed the flowers on the counter and started looking for the card. It didn't took long before she found it.

"_I love you."_

That's the only thing it said. Her smile was even wider now, knowing Luke had sent her the flowers. His handwriting couldn't be missed. She picked up the phone and dialed his number.

"Luke's"

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you."

He smiled, knowing where she was talking about, but he acted as if he had no idea though. "For what?"

"The flowers."

"Which flowers?"

"Don't fool with me mister. I know that you're smiling."

"How can you know that?"

"HA. So you are smiling." She smiled broadly. "I knew it. Thank you."

He shook his head, still smiling. "You're welcome."

"Well, I better go see what Lucan is doing. He's alone in the living room."

"You better. We don't want him breaking anything."

"Exactly."

"Bye."

"Hey Luke?"

"Mmmm…"

"I love you too." And with that she hung up.

-xxxxxx-

"Mom?" Rory entered the house about 15 minutes later.

"Kitchen."

Rory walked into the kitchen. "Hey." She placed a kiss on her mother's cheek. "Where did you got those flowers?"

Lorelai was organizing the roses in a vase. Lucan was sitting on the floor next to her. "Luke had them send to the house."

Rory raised her eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because he loves me." Lorelai handed Rory the card.

"How romantic."

"I know!" Lorelai smiled widely. "The only other time he gave me flowers is when I opened the dragonfly. I almost never get flowers."

"They are very pretty."

"I know."

Rory shook her head. "You're acting like a love sick teenager."

"What? I'm just happy."

"That's great mom."

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"But you sound so…."

"Nah, it's nothing. I'm happy for you mom. I really am."

"But still, there's something wrong with you. Talk to me Rory."

"It's nothing really. I just… it's just…."

"Come on, let's sit." She took Rory's hand in hers and directed her towards the living room. "Lucan come here."

Rory shook her head. "He isn't a dog."

"I know that. He just can't stay in the kitchen by himself. Just a sec okay?" She walked into the kitchen. "Lucan come on, let's go to the living room."

He looked up at his mother and then focused his attention back to his toys.

"Lucan, please?" Lorelai kneeled down, took Lucan's toys away from him and walked into the living room.

Lucan started crying and followed his mother in the living room. "Mama."

"Mom, that's just cruel."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Come here baby." She took Lucan in her arms and hugged him. "I'm sorry baby." She put his toys on the floor. "Here, you can play again. You just can't stay in the kitchen by yourself." He remained crying so she placed a kiss on the top of his head. "I'm so sorry baby."

When Lucan remained crying, Rory took him in her arms. "Come to Rory huh. Mom's just not nice to you is she? You poor kid."

"Hey." Lorelai slapped her.

But soon Lucan had calmed down and he wriggled out of her grip, ready to play again.

"Now come here." Lorelai patted on the couch next to her. "Talk to me Rory."

"It's nothing really. I just, things are going so fast."

"Fast how?"

"Everything really. It's just, next week I'll be getting my college diploma. I just got a phone call this morning that I got the job. And with the wedding coming up…"

"But hon, those are all good things."

"I know that. That's why I don't understand that I'm feeling this way. I'm supposed to be happy. I really am happy….."

"But it's just going a little bit too fast. I understand."

"You do?"

"I do."

"Have you ever felt like this?"

"So many times. I still feel that way every time I look at myself in the mirror. I feel really excited about the twins, but at the same time I feel scared. How am I going to handle 3 small kids at the same time, plus doing my job at the inn? How can I be a good mother to all of you at the same time? Will I be able to give all of you the attention you guys deserve? Won't I forget about you or Lucan when I have to take care of 2 babies at the same time? But then Luke comes home and I know that I don't have to do it by myself, and that we're going to do fine. But it's okay to feel overwhelmed. You're leaving a very important part of your life behind and starting a completely new one."

Rory nodded. "That's exactly how I feel. It's just… I mean, I worked as an intern before and I handled summer jobs and stuff like that, but this is going to be full time. No more school, no more studying. It's going to be for real now."

"It is. But Rory, this is what you've been working so hard for all this time. This is it."

"I know. And that's what scares me mom. What if I made a mistake? What if this isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life?"

"Then you'll find something else. This is going to be your first real job, but it won't be your last one."

Rory smiled. "So, I'm freaking out for no reason?"

"Not my words, but yeah." Lorelai smiled at her daughter. "You're going to be fine. You're going to love it. And if you want to put off the wedding for a while, I think Warren would understand."

Rory shook her head. "I don't want to put off the wedding. I already feel a lot better. Thanks mom."

"Your welcome kid." Lorelai pulled Rory against her and placed a kiss on top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too mom."

-xxxxxx-

"Lorelai?"

"Upstairs."

Luke climbed the stairs and found Lorelai in Lucan's room. "What are you doing?"

"Changing your son."

"Oh, okay. Where's Rory?"

"In her room. I believe she's on the phone with Warren. She's thinking about staying her tonight and go back to New Haven tomorrow."

"Ok. Are you okay in here, or do you need help?"

"I'm fine."

"I'll see you downstairs." Luke went downstairs and knocked on Rory's door.

"Come in."

"Hey. Luke entered the room. "What are you doing?"

"Just reading. I just called Warren to tell him I'm staying here tonight."

"I was kind of hoping you would say that."

"How so?"

"Well, if you don't mind I'd like to take your mom out. But if you want to hang out with Lane or something, you don't have to babysit."

"Nah, I love to spend some time with my brother. Besides, I can call Lane and ask her to come over. Lucan never wakes up after he falls asleep anyway, so we can have a nice girl's night."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Take her out. She'll love it."

"Thanks."

Rory nodded. "I'm going to call Lane and ask her to come over. It's been a while since I saw her."

"Then I'll go upstairs to talk to your mom." He climbed the stairs and walked back into Lucan's room.

"What are you doing back up here?"

"Taking over."

"Why? I can handle it. I'm almost finished anyway. I just have to put his pants back on."

"I know. But I want you to go into our bedroom and put on something nice."

"But Luke, we haven't even had dinner yet." She blinked her eyes seductively.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh geez."

"What? Not what you were talking about?"

"Hell no. I have three good reasons for that."

"You do?"

"Yes. First, I do not talk like that it in front of our son. Second, we're not allowed to do that as you're supposed to take it easy. And third, we don't have time for that as I'm taking you out."

"You what?"

"I'm taking you out. Rory's looking after Lucan."

"You're serious?"

"Yeah."

"That's great! I love to go out."

"Then change."

"Yes mister."

-xxxxxx-

After having dinner together at an Indian restaurant in Hartford, Luke and Lorelai were walking in a park. Her head was resting on his shoulder while his arm hold her tight. "We don't go out enough."

"Mmm…." Was his only response.

"Have I told you what a great time I had yet?"

"About ten times I guess." He placed a kiss on top of her head.

"I love spending time with you. Dinner was great, and this, this is really nice."

"I agree."

"We really should do this more often. Do you think we could get Rory to babysit once a week so we can go out?"

"I don't think so. She's starting working in a few weeks and I think she likes to spend her evenings with Warren. Plus, soon there will be three kids and….."

She put a finger on his lips. "I get your point. Enjoy it while we still can."

They walked in silence for a few minutes.

"I used to play here when I was a kid."

"But this is pretty far from your parent's house."

"I know. So you better don't tell my mom I went here by myself as an 8 year old."

"You were something. We can only hope our kids won't grow up to look like you."

"Gee thanks. I'm glad you love me so much."

He stopped her and stepped in front of her, looking directly into her eyes. "If our daughter will grow up to be the woman you are, I couldn't be more proud. I just meant…"

She kissed him. "I know what you meant. I don't want them to act the way I did when I grew up either. Although my mom would love it." She smiled.

"How so?"

"Because I didn't made things easy for her. I went against her all the time, even when she was right. I don't know… She'd just like to see me struggle with our kids the way I made her struggle."

"I don't believe that. She thinks you're a great mother Lorelai, and I don't think she wants those things for you."

"Maybe you're right."

"I'm always right."

"Ha." But she smiled and kissed him again. "God I love this." She placed her head back on his shoulder and started walking again. "There were always a lot of kids in this park. We played all sorts of games. But the swings were my favorite."

"Why?"

"Because if you close your eyes, it feels as if you're flying. It made me feel free."

They walked into the direction of the swings.

"Do you mind if I?"

"Of course not. As long as I don't have to." He let go of her and watched how she sat down on the swing.

She started moving her legs and went higher and higher. She closed her eyes and leaned back a little. "It still feels the same. You should try it."

"No thanks."

"Come on Luke." She stopped the swing and looked at him. "It feels great."

He shook his head.

"Don't tell me you've never been on a swing as a kid."

"Of course I have. My dad hung up a swing on the tree in our back yard."

"Sounds great."

"It was, except Liz made me push her all the time. She was too lazy to do the work by herself."

"Push me?"

He stood behind her and started pushing.

"Faster."

He pushed her a few more times and stepped away.

She enjoyed the wind rushing past her as she moved back and forward. And Luke enjoyed watching her. When the swing stopped she stood up and took his hand in hers. "You don't know what you're missing."

He shrugged. "As long as I don't know."

They started walking again, enjoying being in each others arms and enjoying the quietness around them. There was an occasional dog walker passing them, but nobody said anything or paid attention to them. They walked in silence for almost an hour when they finally ended at their car.

"Where do you want to go now?"

"How about home? I don't think Lucan is giving Rory a hard time, but if he is…. Plus, it's getting kind of late."

"You can just say that you're tired."

"Well, that too." She sat down in the passenger seat and he closed the door for her. Then he walked to the other side of the car and climbed in himself.

Within five minutes Lorelai had fallen asleep. Luke drove home with a smile on his face, watching her occasionally. When he parked the car in the driveway, he tried waking her up. "Lorelai."

"Uhggg." She moved in her seat and kept her eyes closed tight.

So he walked to her side of the car and opened the door. He took her in his arms and carried her inside the house.

Rory and Lane were watching a movie together when Luke entered the house. "Hey."

"Hey."

"She's asleep?"

He nodded. "I'm going to put her in bed. I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Luke climbed the stairs and carefully placed Lorelai on their bed. He removed her shoes and covered her with a blanket. Then he watched her sleep for a few minutes before walking out of the room. He checked up on Lucan, who was fast asleep in his crib. Downstairs the movie was still playing.

"How did things go with Lucan tonight?"

"Fine, as always. You made us some dinner before we left so we ate together. He seemed to like the spaghetti. After that I gave him a bath and we read a few books together. When I put him in bed he fell asleep within a few minutes and I haven't heard him since."

"Glad to hear he didn't gave you a hard time."

"Oh, he never does."

"Good. Well, if you don't mind I go to bed myself. I have to open the diner tomorrow."

"Of course not. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Rory."

"Goodnight Luke."

"Night Lane."

Luke climbed the stairs and changed in the bathroom. Then he climbed in bed with Lorelai, who was still sleeping. But she did sense that he was in bed with her because she turned around and instinctively placed her head on his chest. He kissed her hair and then closed his eyes, falling in a deep, peaceful sleep himself.

T.B.C.


	28. Rory's graduation

_A/N: Hey everybody. I know you all hate me by now. I'm horrible at updating lately. I've just been pretty busy which is a lame excuse. I know!! Plus, this chapter was pretty hard to write and I didn't really know how I wanted to have it until this week. So now it's finished and as the title says it it's about Rory's graduation. I hope you'll all like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1_

**Chapter 28 – Rory's graduation**

"BEEP BEEP BEEP" Lorelai slams the top of the alarm to silence it and turns around in bed. Then suddenly several other alarms go off, all at the same time. 'TUUT TUUT TUUT' She sits up in bed and looks around, seeing something that wasn't there when she went to bed last night. "Luke" She gritted under her teeth and got out of bed, the alarms already driving her crazy. After normally shutting off one more, she just broke the others, no longer finding the patience to silence them the normal way.

She slipped in her robe and found her way downstairs. "Luke."

"Yeah?" He looked up when he heard his wife yelling.

"You're hilarious!" She stopped next to him. "Okay, see, last night, when I said to you, 'Tomorrow, no matter what, make sure I get up at seven,' what I actually meant was, 'Tomorrow, no matter what, make sure I have the option of getting up at seven in case when seven comes, I actually wanna get up,' which, as it happened, I didn't. Therefore, you're currently responsible for the great alarm clock slaughter of 2007"

"No survivors?"

"Only…." She stopped.

"What is it?"

"Do you have a feeling of deja-vu?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. "What are you talking about?"

"This, you me, the alarm clock slaughter? Have we not been here before?"

"No." He shook his head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just, I have the feeling I've been here before. Think Luke, think."

He thought deeply but nothing came to mind. "So, according to you, what happens next?"

"I go looking for coffee, which you've been hiding for me, but of course I find it…."

"You didn't drink any coffee for 7 months."

"I know…. It's not exactly the same, but still, it feels as if some of it is."

"Maybe you dreamed about it."

She looked up. "That's it! I did dream about it and I even told you about it. Don't you remember?"

"Told me about it when?"

"A couple of years ago when the Independence Inn burned down and I slept at your place because there were people staying at my place and I had no place else to go. You were dating Nicole at the time."

"Can we please not talk about her."

"Sorry." She smiled. "I dreamed about us when I didn't even think about dating you. I dreamed that I was pregnant with twins and you kissed me goodbye because you were going to the diner and doing grocery shopping for us. And I wanted to name our babies really weird things. I don't remember what it was, but it was weird. Definitely something you wouldn't agree on."

He smiled slightly. "I do remember you telling me about a dream. But I don't remember anything about a kiss."

"Well, there was a kiss." She smiled at the memory and then walked towards him and kissed his lips. "Just like this."

After she pulled back he looked her directly into the eyes. "I'm glad your dream became true."

"Me too. Although I could have done without all the alarm clocks."

"It was just a joke. You made me promise that I'd wake you up at 7 today. You said you need a lot of time to get ready."

"Remind me again why I had to be up at 7? The ceremony won't start until four."

"That's what I've been telling you for four days now. But you won't listen to me."

"Oh…. Well, in my dream you gave me breakfast. I could sure use that right now."

He handed her a plate with pancakes and eggs and bacon on the side. "Something like this?"

"Smells perfect. And exactly as in my dream." She sat down at the kitchen table. "Is Lucan still asleep?"

"Yeah. I haven't heard him yet. I'll check up on him if you want."

"No that's okay. He'll let us know when he's awake. It's a miracle he's still asleep after all those alarm clocks going off, but anyway. Why won't you sit down next to me?"

"You know I have to leave soon. I already had Caesar opening the diner and Lane and Jake will close, but I do have to be there until lunch rush. After that I will come home, change and we'll still have over an hour left to get to New Haven in time."

"Ok." She spoke with her mouth half full.

He shook his head. "Don't do that. You set a bad example for our kids."

"Sowie" She just placed another bite in her mouth and smiled at him.

"You're disgusting."

"Thanks." Her mouth was finally empty. "Kiss?"

He leaned in to kiss her. "Take it easy. You have more than enough time to get ready okay?"

She nodded. "I know."

"Bye."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

She smiled as she watched him walk away, rethinking her dream once again. Things did turn out to be different. Definitely not what she expected five years ago when she was fighting with Luke the whole summer and after breaking up with Chris because he got Sherry pregnant…. She recalled how Rory was in Washington and analyzed her dream. 'Your dream was telling you that you're secretly in love with Luke and you wanna marry him and have his twins.' Back then she asked for a second analyzes but rethinking it, maybe Rory was right the first time. Only, she didn't know it yet. Hence the secretly.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai looked at herself in the mirror. Her very pregnant belly pointing forward in her dress. She turned to one side and looked how her reflection changed in the mirror. She didn't notice how Luke was standing in the doorway watching her until she heard his voice.

"You look beautiful."

She looked up at him. "Thanks." Then she looked back in the mirror and turned to the other side.

"Lorelai, you look fine."

She shook her head. "What do you think people will say?"

He entered the bedroom and sat down on the bed. "Say about what?"

"Me."

"What should they say about you?"

"Well you know, we're going to my daughter's college graduation and just look at me."

He looked at her and raised his shoulders. "What am I supposed to see?"

She pointed at her stomach. "This?"

He shook his head and smiled while standing up. He walked up behind her and placed both his hands on her stomach. Then he turned them 90 degrees so they were looking directly into the mirror. "They will see a very proud mother of two, soon four children."

"But don't you think they think that's weird?"

"You've never worried about that before. Why now?"

"Because it's Rory's college graduation and I will show up with a one year old and looking very pregnant. Won't they think it's weird that I'm Rory's mother?"

"Haven't people always thought it is weird? So what that you were 16 when you had her? She turned out great. She's graduating at an ivy league college. If people should think anything, it's that you're amazing. Amazing because a lot of 16 year old mother mess up, can't raise their child. And you raised yours to be an amazing, beautiful, smart and independent young woman. And they should think that Lucan and those two in there are very lucky because you're their mother as well. And over 20 years from now we'll meet them again. When Lucan or the twins are graduating college and they are their because of the graduation of their grandchildren."

She smiled and turned her head towards him, placing a kiss on his mouth. "You always know what to say to make me feel better."

"I'm just telling you the truth." He kissed her again. "Why don't you finish getting ready? We don't want to be late. Because that would make a bad impression."

She smiled. "I'll be downstairs in five minutes. Why don't you go and make sure Lucan didn't spilled anything over his clothes."

He nodded and walked away, stopping in the door opening. He turned around and looked at her. "You really do look beautiful."

She blushed at tone of his voice and for once, didn't know what to say. She just smiled and said "go check up on Lucan."

He nodded and walked downstairs. Lucan was sitting in the playpen playing with his stuffed bear.

"Buh."

"Yeah, that's your bear." He extended his arms towards Lucan, who pulled himself up, dropping the bear.

"Dada."

"Come here buddy, let me take a look at you." He hold Lucan in front of him and checked his clothes. There was a huge stain in front of his shirt so he climbed the stairs towards Lucan's bedroom. "Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

"He has this huge stain in his shirt. What do you want him to wear now?"

"Brown pants with the light blue shirt and brown shoes. It's laying on top of his dresser."

He shook his head. "You knew Lucan needed clean clothes didn't you?"

"He always manages to get dirty somehow, so yeah. That's why I didn't put on his good clothes this morning."

"And you asked me to check why?"

"Because it's more fun this way." She was standing in the door opening with a huge smile on her face. "Plus, now I'm ready before you guys are."

"I was ready an hour ago. You could have told me to change Lucan earlier."

"Of course not. He would have managed to get dirty before we'd leave and you'd had to change him all over again. Trust me."

He sighed, knowing she was probably right. "So how are we going to prevent him from getting dirty on the way over?"

"By not giving him anything to eat or drink until we're there. He'll be sitting in his car seat, most likely will fall asleep and still look perfect when we arrive."

"I'm glad we don't have to go to these big events more often. It's too much work."

"Tell me about it. But we won't have to go to this sort of event for another twenty years anyway. And then we won't have anymore toddlers running around, unless they're our grandchildren."

He looked up, a shocked look on her face. "Within twenty years? I certainly hope not."

"They can always be Rory's, although I think hers will be much older by then. And I also hope that neither Lucan or the twins have any kids running around twenty years from now. But then again my parents probably thought the same thing when I was Lucan's age. Rory was already six when I was her age and I didn't graduated college until I was 33. And even then it was only community college."

"But you turned out okay, and so did Rory."

"I know. I just meant that you never know how things go in live. And maybe that's a good thing."

He nodded as he tied Lucan's last lace. Then he lifted up the boy. "All done. Let's go."

"Let's do."

-xxxxxx-

Emily and Richard were already waiting together with Rory and Warren. "Lorelai. You're finally here."

"Sorry. We had to change Lucan last minute otherwise he would have gotten himself dirty and we'd had to do it all over again and we would have been even later."

"And that makes sense how?"

"Just be me and it makes perfect sense." She then turned to face her daughter. "How's my college graduate doing?"

"Just fine. I think grandma is the only one nervous here."

Lorelai smiled. "She's been waiting for this moment for 40 years. Give her a break."

Rory raised her eyebrows. "Huh?"

"Don't listen to her Rory." Luke gave his stepdaughter a hug. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." She took Lucan out of Luke's hands. "Hey buddy. How about I give you a tour around campus?"

"It will take a few years before he will even go to preschool, let alone college."

"So, you can never start too early. I've been thinking about college ever since I started preschool and I want to give him a head start."

"Go ahead."

"Come on." Rory pulled at Warren's hand and with that the three of them walked away.

"We should go and find a place to sit."

"I hope there's still a seat with a decent view."

"You could have gone to find us a seat and just saved us a few mom."

"That's what I proposed, but Rory insisted on waiting for you and Luke."

"Well, we're here so let's go."

The found seats in the 5th row. The truth was that they weren't late at all. There was an hour left before the ceremony would start but Emily had insisted on them coming early. When they were finally seated, Emily looked at her daughter. "Lorelai, may I have a word with you?"

"Uhm… sure."

Emily stood up and indicated for Lorelai to follow her.

"Mom, we just sat down! Couldn't you have told me you wanted to talk to me before this?" She struggled to get through the narrow aisle. "It's not as if this is easy for me."

"Oh Lorelai, stop complaining."

Lorelai turned around to look at her father, who just raised his shoulders. When they finally found a quiet place Lorelai asked. "Mom, what is it?"

"I know that there was a time when I wanted all of this for you. And I know that dream was over when I found out you were pregnant with Rory. And I know that community college is not what I wanted for you, but still I was proud at you when you graduated."

"Oh mom, I know that. I was just joking. I didn't mean anything. And I'm sorry if what I said hurt your feelings."

Emily looked at her daughter. "I am proud at you Lorelai. You know that right?"

"I do mom. I absolutely do."

-xxxxxx-

"Good evening everybody. Welcome at the graduation of the class of 2007. There is a large group of young men and young woman who will receive their college diploma today. They have all worked very hard towards this moment and are happy that they can share it with you……………

………Then now it's time to give everybody their diploma's. We start with Dasi Sohpia Abbot….

…… Lorelai Leigh Gilmore.

Lorelai smiled when her daughter entered the stage. She took the diploma from the dean and lifted it in the air. Lorelai raised her thumb and Rory did the same.

"Owy!" Lucan pointed at his sister. "Owy." Everybody heard him, including Rory so she waved at her little brother with a huge smile on her face. Then she left the stage because the dean already called the next student on stage.

-xxxxxx-

After the ceremony they were standing together with a drink in their hands to celebrate. "I can't believe my little girl graduated college."

Rory blushed and Warren squeezed her hand.

"But seriously. This day has been long coming, whether I wanted it or not. Rory was 4 years old when I picked her up from school and she told me 'I'm going to Harvard.' I looked at her and asked her what she said. 'I'm going to Harvard.' I looked down at my little girl and asked her why. 'Because that's the best school in the country of course.' I shook my head and together we walked home.

When the time came and Rory applied to colleges she was lucky enough to have a choice. Harvard, Princeton and Yale. Yale did best in the whole pro-con thing and not only because Yale was closest to Stars Hallow so that's where she went. I remember the day I dropped Rory off at Yale for the first time as the day of yesterday. I remember driving home and it felt so empty. Lucky for me Rory felt lonely as well and asked me to come over. We spend the first night at her dorm together. I can't believe that 4 years have past already. Look at her now. She's this beautiful smart woman, ready to start her first job as a college graduate, engaged to get married. Sometimes I can't believe that you are my daughter but than I think back to the day you came into my life. The way I first looked into your eyes. I knew you were a smart girl, and you've never proven me wrong. What I really wanted to say was, I'm so proud of you Rory."

Rory hugged her mother as best as she could. "Thanks mom. I love you."

"I love you too kid."

Luke who was holding Lucan looked at Emily if he could speak. She nodded briefly. "When Rory was still in high school she would come into my diner with this huge yellow backpack that was way too heavy for a young girl. I couldn't believe how many books they would let her bring to school. I was thinking about talking to the principal until Lorelai told me that half her backpack was filled with books that Rory didn't really need. That she just brought for fun."

They all smiled, knowing how true this was.

"She doesn't walks around with those huge backpack anymore, but not much has changed. You should see the amount of stuff she brought when she came home for a weekend. He looked directly at Rory. Anyway, I think I'm really going to miss those books now that you're done with school. But there are so many new challenges waiting for you and I just wanted to say how proud I am to have you in my life."

"I'm glad to be in your life too Luke." She hugged him and they all smiled when Lucan put his arms around Rory's neck. He liked all the hugging and wanted to be a part of it. Rory took him in her arms and turned to her grandparents, knowing they'd be next.

"I'm so happy you got into Chilton. Because that's the moment I started seeing you on a weekly basis. For a moment I was afraid that would stop when you got into Yale, but you still came to visit every Friday night, except from the year you went to London of course. I'm so happy that Richard and I became a part of your life, and I hope that won't change now you graduated and will become a working woman."

"It won't grandma. I promise you it won't." She hugged her grandmother and once again Lucan joined this game. But when Emily tried to take him, he refused, holding on to Rory tight. He probably realized that she was getting all the attention and wanted to be a part of it as well.

"The day you told me you were going to Yale was the proudest day in my life." Richard started. "Until this day. The day you graduated from Yale. I'm very proud of you Rory."

Rory hugged her grandfather. "Thanks grandpa."

Everybody looked at Warren now. He was the only one who hadn't said anything yet.

"Uhm… I didn't prepare a speech." He pretended to be nervous but than smiled. "Rory, there are a thousand things I can say, but they will all lead to the same thing. I am so proud at you. I'm proud of who you are and what you already did in your life and I'm so happy that you'll become my wife." He smiled broadly and took her in his arms, Lucan in between. Then he kissed her. When they pulled apart he smiled even wider. "That should tell you how I feel. Much easier than words."

They all laughed.

"Rory, I have something for you." Richard handed her an envelope.

"Oh, grandpa, you didn't…"

He put a finger on her lips to silence her. "Just open it. It's from your grandmother and me." He took Lucan out of Rory's hands who started protesting immediately.

"No." He tried to move out of his grandfathers arms.

Luke walked towards them and took Lucan in his arm. Lucan was still protesting but Luke's grip was firm. "Calm down buddy. Let's see what grandma and grandpa got Rory okay?"

Rory opened the envelope and to her surprise there was another envelope inside. An envelope from a travel agency. "What is this?"

"Open it." Emily smiled.

"Okay…" Rory opened the envelope and took out two plane tickets and a letter. She started with reading the letter and her eyes went big. "Oh my God. Seriously?"

She looked at her grandparents who were nodding proudly. "It's what you always wanted right?" Emily had to check.

"Yeah. I can't believe you remembered. I was sixteen when I was talking about Fez. Thank you soo much!!" She hugged both her grandparents. "This is a really great gift. I can't tell you how happy I am."

Emily smiled. "The look on your face right now says enough."

Rory smiled. "That's good." Then she handed the tickets to her mother. "Look mom, see what grandma and grandpa gave me."

Lorelai took the tickets out of Rory's hands and smiled. "That's great Rory."

Rory didn't see how behind her Emily mouthed a thank you to Lorelai who simply nodded.

-xxxxxxx-

Luke and Lorelai were lying in bed that night. They were lying on their sides, facing each other.

"It was a good day, wasn't it?"

"Besides from the way you woke me up. Yeah it was." She smiled.

"What do you mean, the way I woke you up?"

She hit his shoulder. "My baby girl graduated college."

"She's not a baby anymore."

"I know. But sometimes I just like to believe that she still needs me as when she was a baby. But she's an independent college graduate now who's getting married in a few months."

He just smiled and rubbed her arm, not really knowing what to say.

"But it's good right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. This is what the two of you have been working for all those months. And now she has new things to work for."

"That's how it's supposed to go right? You try to live up your dreams even when they change a little in the process and once you've reached your goals, you have new goals."

"Yeah."

She smiled. "I really am proud. I really can't believe that this day has come. And that it went how it went. She really loved the trip to Fez right?"

"She did. Your mother was really happy you helped them with the gift."

She nodded. "And she liked our gift too right?"

"Of course she did. She loved it and you know it."

"I do." She smiled and yawned.

He leaned towards her and kissed her. "Time to go to sleep. It was a long day."

"And whose fault was that?" She smiled as she turned on her other side.

He snuggled close to her and kissed her on top of her head, wisely keeping his mouth shut.

T.B.C.


	29. Uncomfortable conversations

_A/N: That was pretty fast right? Much sooner than last time!! Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter. I hope you'll like this!! _

**Chapter 29** - **Uncomfortable conversations **

"Now you are in your third trimester, it is important to think about the delivery."

Lorelai looked at dr. Elder. "Why do we have to discuss that? I don't remember discussing it with Lucan."

"A twin birth is more complicated. Therefore it is important to think about what you want. Do you want to give birth to the twins naturally, assuming the twins will both be in a good position at the time of the birth, or do you want to schedule a c-section."

Lorelai looked at Luke. She had given it some thought, but wasn't ready to make a decision. Dr. Elder noticed this.

"You don't have to make a decision now. It is just important to have a birth plan ready for when they will come. In twins premature labor is more likely, and you need to know what you want. I can give you some brochures, and we can discuss it at your appointment next week."

"Uhm……" Lorelai took Luke's hand in hers while she considered what dr. Elder was saying. "Isn't it easier to do a c-section? I mean, I remember how it feels to give birth to one child, let alone two…"

Dr. Elder smiled. "The pain won't be worse than with one child. And it won't be exactly twice as much work, but it will be more work. Sometimes the children are born right after each other, but it also happens that after the first baby is born, you are not fully dilated anymore and have to wait for a while. There can be hours between the birth of two children. It even happens that they are both born at a different day. Especially if the birth takes place around midnight."

"So a c-section is easier?"

"You won't experience the contractions, but it is major abdominal surgery so afterwards you will experience a lot more problems. Of course we will try to make you as comfortable as possible with pain medication, but we can't prevent you from experiencing any pain at all. Especially with a c-section. Because you are given birth to twins, we will give you an epidural. Unless you really insist against that. This way when there will be complications, we can take you to the operating room for a c-section."

Luke looked up at dr. Elder in shock. "What do you mean, complications?"

"The risks of complications during twin birth are higher than when giving birth to only one child. For example, if baby number one is in the right position and the second one is in breech, it is possible to deliver the first baby through natural child birth, and try to turn the second baby once number one is out. When we fail there might be a chance that we have to perform a c-section to deliver the second baby."

Lorelai shook her head. "I don't see why I would go through the pain of the contractions and child birth, when I still need to have a c-section anyway."

"That's understandable. Let's go back to Luke's question first. There are a few reasons to perform a c-section, besides breech or transverse position of the babies. When the mother is suffering from preeclampsia, placenta abruption, when labor is not progressing, when one or both babies are going into distress or when one of the babies is too big."

Both Luke and Lorelai had some look of horror on their faces now. "Can't we just leave them in there?"

Dr. Elder smiled. "Even though the risks of complications are higher than in normal child birth, still a lot of babies are born naturally. In fact, 50 percent of all twins are born vaginally, while the other 50 percent are born through c-section."

"So, what do you want us to do?"

"This is a decision you have to make by yourself. But if everything goes normally through those last few weeks, I will advice you to deliver the babies naturally. That way you will experience less problems afterwards. I will give you some brochures. Just read through them and think about what you want to do. We can discuss it more next week."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay." She felt a little more comfortable now, although labor was still something she wasn't looking forward to.

"Then we are done for this week. Both you and the babies are doing great. Just go on the way you are, and you know you can call me if something is up."

"We do." They stood up and shook dr. Elder's hand. "We better go see if my mother is doing okay with Lucan."

"She's probably having a great time."

Lorelai smiled. "I hope so."

-xxxxxx-

Lucan was playing on the floor with his train, while Emily was reading a book on the couch. She glanced at him occasionally, making sure he wasn't doing anything he was not allowed to do. She smiled when she saw him gone up in his game completely and focused her attention back on her book. She read a few lines when the maid walked in.

"Mrs. Gilmore?"

"Yes Sophia?"

"I was wondering if you want me to wash the curtains upstairs. I was thinking about it, and it has been a few weeks since I've last done that."

"You don't have to ask those things Sophia. You know that. If you think you have to wash the curtains, you should do so."

"Okay Mrs. Gilmore. Have you thought about what you want for dinner this evening?"

"We've discussed it this morning." Emily shook her head. "What is going on with you today?"

"Nothing Mrs. Gilmore. I will go back to work now." Sophia turned around to walk away.

"Okay stop. You can tell me what is bothering you. You've been working for me for quite a while now, and you seem a little bit off today. Talk to me."

Sophia looked at Emily grateful. "I had a fight with my husband this morning. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but I feel bad leaving the house without making up."

"Why don't you give him a call then? Talk things over? You can use one of the phones upstairs if you want some privacy."

"Thank you Mrs. Gilmore. There is no way……" She stopped when suddenly they heard crying coming from the hallway.

Emily looked around the living room in shock, and saw the train abandoned on the floor. She got up and ran towards the hallway, where she found Lucan on the bottom of the stairs. He was sitting and crying furiously. She picked him up immediately. "What did you do sweetie?" She hugged him tight. "You know you can not come here by yourself. You are too small to climb the stairs."

"What happened?" Sophia stood next to Emily.

"I think he tried climbing the stairs and fell down. Why don't you get him something to drink?"

Sophia nodded and went off towards the kitchen.

Emily took Lucan into the living room. She put Lucan in her lap so she could look at him. He had stopped crying and only sobbed occasionally now. At a first sight he seemed okay. She placed a kiss on top of his head. "You scared me little boy. Never run off on grandma again okay? You have to promise me."

"Is he okay?" Sophia handed Emily a bottle filled with orange juice.

"I think so." She handed Lucan the bottle which he took with his left hand. He snuggled into her arms and started drinking. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

Ten minutes later Luke and Lorelai walked in. "Hey mom."

Emily put her index finger on her lips. "Shhh… he's asleep."

Lorelai nodded and sat down on the couch. Luke sat down next to her.

"How was the appointment. Are the babies okay?"

"Yeah they're fine. Growing like they're supposed to, heart rate was perfect. My blood pressure was okay too. Everything's going great."

"That's good."

"Yeah. There was one less comfortable conversation though. She wants us to think about giving birth. She says that it's safe to go with natural child birth if both babies are in the right position. And that 50 percent of all twins are born naturally. But there is a higher risk of complications and she wants me to think about wanting to have a c-section."

"When?"

"When the time comes. She does advices to go with natural child birth, but I still have to consider my options."

Emily nodded. "You should think about it. Talk about it with Luke."

"I will." She smiled slightly. "How did things go with Lucan."

"Okay. Although there was this small incident."

"Did he break something again?"

Emily shook her head. "Not that I know of. But I was looking away for 5 seconds when I was talking to Sophia, and then we heard crying coming from the hallway. I think he tried climbing the stairs and fell down."

"What? Is he okay?"

"I think so. He didn't cry for long. I gave him something to drink and then he fell asleep."

"What if he hit his head? He could have a concussion or something? He can't sleep right now."

"Lorelai relax. He's fine."

She looked at Luke. "Could you please get him for me?"

He nodded and stood up, taking Lucan from Emily.

He opened his eyes. "Dada."

"Hey buddy." He placed a kiss on his son's forehead and sat down next to Lorelai again, sitting Lucan in his lap.

Lorelai looked at her son. She checked his head first, but there were no visible bumps. Then she checked his left hand and then his right. But when she touched his right hand he pulled it away immediately. "Luke."

"I saw it." Luke rolled up Lucan's sleeve and checked the arm. "There are no visible injuries on the outside."

"Mom, can you hand me the bottle?"

Emily handed the bottle to Lorelai.

Lorelai held the bottle in front of Lucan's right hand, but he took it with his left hand instead. Bringing it to his mouth immediately.

"That's weird. He never uses his left hand to take a bottle."

"Something's wrong Luke. I know it." She looked at him directly.

He nodded. "Let's take him to the emergency room okay?"

"Yes. We should do that." She stood up. "Sophia?" And then a little louder. "Sophia?"

"Lorelai calm down."

"Shut up mom. You did this to him. You know you have to watch him constantly. He's a one year old boy. He needs constant attention."

"Don't you think I know that? I looked away for 5 seconds."

"A lot can happen in 5 seconds mom."

Sophia entered the living room. "You called me?"

"Bring our coats." Lorelai was less than polite.

"Lorelai please. I'm sorry."

"You better be." She followed Sophia into the hallway and grabbed the coats out of her hands. "Thank you."

"Lorelai come on." Luke was standing next to her now. "This isn't your mother's fault. You and I both know that it's impossible to constantly watch him. How often did he do something when he slipped our attention for 2 seconds? And he falls all the time."

"Never off the stairs because we have one of these gates in front of it. Mom should know to keep the doors to the hallway close."

"I thought it was closed. I think Sophia might have left it open when she came into the living room."

"Well, she should have paid better attention."

Lucan started crying when he heard the angry tone in his mother's voice.

"Come here baby." Lorelai extended her arms towards Lucan and tried to take him in her arms. But it wasn't easy anymore with her big stomach. It was completely in the way and she couldn't hold him close to her. She felt frustrated that she couldn't even comfort her own son and had no choice but to hand him back to Luke after he had put on his coat.

"Let's go."

They all walked towards the car and Emily wanted to get into the backseat.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm coming with you."

"I don't think so mom. You've done enough."

"Lorelai." Luke sighed.

"She's not coming."

Luke gave Emily an apologetic Luke. I'll call you later okay? I think it's better if you stay here. If Lorelai stays mad it will only upset Lucan."

She nodded. "I understand."

Luke sat down on the passenger seat and handed Lorelai the keys. "You have to drive. I don't want to put Lucan down."

She looked at him as if he was kidding, then walked around the car and tried to squeeze her body behind the steering wheel as best as she could. She had to put the seat much further back than she was used to and had trouble reaching the peddles, but refused to ask Emily to drive so just put the car in reverse and turned it around.

They reached the hospital within ten minutes. Lorelai parked the car and walked to the other side to help Luke out of the car. She took the diaper bag and together they entered the hospital. The emergency room was quite busy and they had to sign in with triage.

"Hello. My name is Lorelai Gilmore. I think my son may have broken his arm."

The triage nurse handed her a sign in form. "You have to fill out this in for me first. Then a doctor will come to you as soon as possible."

They sat down and Lorelai started filling out the form.

They had to wait almost an hour and a half before the nurse called them into an exam room. By this time Lorelai had calmed down a little. She wasn't angry anymore, she just felt really bad about what happened. She felt responsible and hated that she had to leave the comforting to Luke. Normally when Lucan wasn't feeling well he always clung to her, and now her pregnant belly left that almost impossible.

"My name is doctor Gates. This must be Lucan?"

Lorelai nodded. "And I'm Lorelai and this is my husband Luke."

"Please take a seat." They all did. "So, can you tell me what happened?"

"Lucan escaped my mother's attention for a few seconds and tried climbing her stairs. He fell down and I think there is something wrong with his arm. He pulls it away when we touch it and he refuses to pick up anything with his right hand, while normally he always uses right, never left."

"Why don't we take a look." He kneeled down next to Luke and Lucan and took Lucan's right hand in his. Lucan started crying immediately and tried to pull the hand away. But the doctor's grip was tight and he managed to do a quick exam before he let Lucan go. The boy was still crying furiously and snuggled into his father's shoulder.

"It looks like his wrist may be broken. We need to take an x-ray to be sure."

"What if it is broken?"

"Then he'll have to wear a cast for a couple of weeks. 3, maybe 4. Depends on the ype of fracture. Children heal faster than adults."

Lorelai nodded.

The doctor wrote a request form for the x-ray and handed it to Lorelai. X-ray is at the second floor to your left."

She nodded. "I know."

"Good. I will call x-ray to let them know that you're coming. You have to hand this form to the nurse behind the desk and she will tell you what to do next. You can come back down here after the x-ray is taken. Tell one of your nurses you're back when you are so I can take a look at the x-ray and decide what to do next."

"Thank you." They stood up and exited the room. They took the elevator to the second floor as Lorelai complained that two floors were to far for her to walk. When they found x-ray Lorelai handed the request form to the nurse who told them to sit down in the waiting room.

5 Minutes later they were called to come inside. Lorelai stood up together with Luke, but the x-ray technician stopped her. "I'm sorry ma'am but it's better if you stay in the waiting room."

"But…" Lorelai started to protest but then looked down at her stomach. She nodded and sat back down.

"Okay sir. We have to take two x-rays of your son's wrist. We need you to hold him down for us."

Luke nodded. "Just tell me what to do."

"We will." They entered the exam room. "You have to sit down on this stool and sit Lucan in your lap.

Luke did as he was told.

"Which wrist is it?"

"His right."

"Okay. Then you have to put his right wrist on this cassette here. It is important that you hold his arm real tight so that he can not move it. My colleague behind the screen will take the picture and I will hold his hand. But I need your cooperation because if he moves we have to retake the x-ray."

Luke nodded. "I understand." Lucan started crying when Luke placed his wrist on the cassette and was grateful that the x-ray technician helped him holding Lucan's hand still. She put the camera in the right position and told her colleague to take the picture.

"Okay, that was the first picture. Now we have to take another one in another direction. His hand has to be on the side now. She showed Luke what she meant by using her own hand.

He nodded and turned Lucan's hand. The technician moved the cassette and reset the camera while holding Lucan's hand tight.

"That was it already." She pulled her hand through Lucan's hair. "All done big boy. You're really brave." She smiled at Luke. "If you wait in the waiting room for a few minutes, we will take a look at the x-ray to see if everything's on it."

He nodded and cuddled Lucan close to him. "All done baby. Let's go see mommy huh." He was still crying and extended his left arm towards Lorelai when he saw her. She took him and pulled him against her as best as she could.

"How did he do?"

"It took the two of us to hold him down. They're going to see if the x-ray is alright and if it is we can go back to the emergency room."

Lorelai nodded as she moved Lucan a little, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Luke noticed this and took him from her again. He protested at first, but then snuggled into his father's arms. Finally having calmed down a little.

The x-ray technician entered the living room. "The photo's are okay. You can go back to the emergency room now where the doctor will take a look at them."

"Okay thank you. Did you see if it is broken?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to tell you anything about the pictures except if they are okay or not. The rest is up to the doctor."

"I understand." They took the elevator back downstairs and told one of the nurses that they were back. She put them in an exam room and told them to wait for the doctor.

"It can take a couple of minutes because he is with another patient right now. But he'll get to you as soon as possible."

"Thank you."

They sat down and looked around in silence for a couple of minutes. Luke looked at his wife and wondered if it was a good time to talk to her about what happened earlier. "Lorelai?"

"Yeah?" She looked up, shaken out of her thoughts.

"Do you think we should call your mother? She must be really worried."

"Why don't we wait until we know if his wrist is broken or not?"

He nodded. "Okay. If that's what you want."

"It is." She remained silent again."

After another two minutes he decided to take his change. "Lorelai?"

"Mmm…."

"I think you should apologize to her. This wasn't her fault."

"Luke." She looked at him annoyed.

"Come on, you know that I'm right. He's a boy. He has his own will and managed to escape from our attention several times. Just think about your mother's vase."

"That was totally different"

He shook his head. "He didn't got hurt then. But Lorelai, you and I both know that it's impossible to watch him every second of the day. It takes less than a second for something to go wrong. This could have happened even when your mother, or one of us for that matter was right in front of him. He'll get hurt more often in his life. You can't blame your mother for this."

She shook her head and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk."

"Lorelai." He sighed. "Don't walk away from me. Come on."

"I'm sorry." She walked away and didn't turn around when she heard him call her name.

Luke shook his head and placed a kiss on top of Lucan's head. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

"So…" The doctor walked in. He looked around the room and missed Lorelai. "Where is your wife?"

"She went for a walk."

"Should we wait for her?"

"No, just tell me. Is it broken?"

The doctor put some x-rays on the wall. "Let me show you."

Luke stood up and stood still next to the doctor.

"This is Lucan's wrist. If you look very careful, you see a small line in the bone, right here." He pointed at the x-ray. "That means there's a small greenstick fracture."

"A what?"

"Let's sit down." They sat down again. "A green stick fracture often occurs in children. It means that the bone has a tear, but isn't completely broken. In young children the bones are still flexible and can bend a little. It makes people think of a fresh tree branch, which is very hard to break to because it bends."

Luke nodded. "I understand. So, what's next?"

"We will give him a cast which he has to wear for a couple of weeks."

"Can you do that now?"

"There's a guy working in this hospital that's specialized in casts. He knows exactly how to do this with small children, so we're going to send you to him. I already talked to him and he's waiting for you right now."

"Okay." He stood up and hung the diaper bag over his shoulder while carrying Lucan on the other side. He followed the doctor and entered the other room so Lucan could get a cast.

-xxxxxx-

After Lucan got his cast Luke signed him out. He went up to the cafeteria to look for Lorelai. He found her sitting behind a cup of coffee.

"What were you thinking? You know you can't have any coffee." He was mad at her for walking away, and even more now he saw her with a cup of coffee.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I just bought it. I didn't do anything else with it. It's been sitting there on the table in front of me, and it hasn't moved."

He shook his head. "We're ready to go home if you are."

She looked up and saw the blue cast that was surrounding Lucan's wrist. "It's broken?"

He nodded. "Something called a greenstick fracture."

"What's that?"

"You would have known if you were there when the doctor came."

She sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have walked away."

"Let's go home."

She stood up and followed him in silence. She knew he was mad and he had every right to be. She didn't know why she walked away, but at least she had some time to think. She was relieved when Luke placed Lucan in the car seat and got into the driver's seat himself. It bothered her slightly that he didn't help her in, but she could understand. She sat down in the passenger seat and turned around to look at Lucan. He was staring at his cast and was picking at it with his left hand. She smiled. "It's pretty huh? Mommy can put some stickers on it for you when we get home, make it even prettier."

"You're not going to put any stickers on it. His going to pull them off and eat them."

She nodded. "You're right. Maybe I'll just write something down for him."

He started the car and remained silent.

"Hey Luke? Can you pull left here?"

"But…." He looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You were right."

He turned left and drove where he knew Lorelai wanted to go. He parked the car in the driveway and moved to get out of the car.

She put a hand on his knee to stop him. "Can you give me five minutes? Lucan fell asleep in there and I don't want to take him out, risking to wake him up. And I don't feel comfortable leaving him in there alone."

He nodded, knowing that all she wanted was some time alone with her mother. "Five minutes."

"Call the police if I'm not back by then."

He smiled. "I will."

Lorelai got out of the car and rang the doorbell. She was surprised when her father opened the door. "Dad?"

"Hello Lorelai."

"Is mom home?"

"In the living room. How's Lucan?"

"Fractured his wrist. He has a cast now so it should be okay again in a few weeks. Will you give me a few minutes alone with mom?"

"I'll be out there talking to Luke."

She smiled. "Thanks." She walked towards the living room where she found her mother on the couch reading.

Emily looked up when she heard someone enter the room. "Lorelai?"

"Hey mom." Lorelai sat down next to her mother. "I owe you an apology."

"You didn't call me."

"I know. I'm sorry. I should have, but I figured we could just as well drive by on the way home. He has fracture in his wrist, but nothing a cast won't fix. He's actually pretty proud at his cast."

Emily forced a smile. "I'm really sorry Lorelai. You were right. I should have paid better attention."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, you were right. He's a little boy. He has a lot of energy and likes adventure. I never expected that when he was a baby, but he changed a lot since he learned how to walk. He wants to discover the world and always manages to escape your attention. The amount of times he escaped mine already… you'd be surprised something like this didn't happen sooner. It really wasn't your fault. And I had no right to blame you."

"I appreciate that you're saying that. But it makes me wonder how I'll be able to take care of all three of them after the twins are born."

"I worry about that every single day. What if all three of them want attention at the same time? But I realized that worrying about it won't help. Things will work out by itself. I've raised Rory from when I was sixteen. I'm much older now and so far things are going okay with Lucan, and they will be okay as well when the twins come."

"But what if I'm with one of the twins? I can't keep an eye on Lucan all the time."

"Neither can Luke and I. When we come over for Friday night dinner this week we'll bring you some gates for the stairs. One for upstairs, one for downstairs. I know that you have pretty big stairs, but I'll find a solution. And Luke said that he will get hurt more often in his life. And he's right. As much as I want to protect him from everything, I know I can't. And neither can you."

"Are you sure you would leave your kids with me and your father?"

Lorelai nodded. "Absolutely. I trust you mom. In the end I turned out pretty okay right?"

Emily smiled. "You definitely did."

T.B.C.


	30. Baby shower

_A/N: First of all I owe all of you an apology for not updating until now. I can't believe it's been a month and a half. I've been spending a lot of time working on the report about my graduation project. It was a lot of work, but I'm very satisfied with the result. Now all I have to do is make a presentation and then I'll receive my diploma on February second after with I'll start working. I already have a job and an apartment so a lot of things to look forward to this year. Coming to think, happy new year everyone!! I hope you all have a good year ahead of you._

_It's not like I've stayed away from writing all together the past month and a half. I started a story together with Akarana under a new account called Thecooperation. The story is called Her dream and it's a story based on spoilers, starting where 7.7 ends. If you haven't read it yet, please do!!_

_This chapter jumps a little bit in time. It's half July now and Lorelai is about 36 weeks pregnant. I hope you all like it. Please let me know :)_

**Chapter 30 – Baby shower **

By the time July was half over Lorelai wouldn't stop complaining. It had been over 30 degrees Celsius all week, she felt like a whale and couldn't take the hot temperatures anymore. Luke took Lucan to work with him every day and tried to make things as easy as possible for her.

Lorelai felt as if Luke was avoiding her, but the air-conditioning in the house felt too good to walk to the diner and say something about it. Most of the time, when he finally came home, she was already asleep. She couldn't wait for the babies to be born, even though she had still a couple of weeks left. She had seen every DVD she owned at least twice by now and there was absolutely nothing on TV. With a sigh she hit the power button on the remote and threw it on the table. She reached next to her and found a magazine. She looked through it and then threw it on the table next to the remote. She read every single magazine in the house at least twice as well.

With a sigh she stood up and looked around the living room. There was nothing else she could do. She hated being alone. Her parents were on vacation and Rory was working and with Luke avoiding her, her days were lonely and boring. That's when she decided to go to the diner. She couldn't stay within the walls of her house any longer, or she'd go crazy. She had no choice but to go out, even if that meant facing Luke and their recent problems.

Once she stepped outside she already regretted her decision. With the air-conditioning on she forgot how hot it was outside. She couldn't stand another minute in the house however, so she decide to continue her walk.

"Lorelai, sugar."

"Hey Babette." Lorelai forced a smile when she ran into her neighbor while she didn't even reach the street yet.

"How are you doing sugar? We haven't seen you for a week. Are you and the babies okay?"

"We're fine Babette."

"I'm so glad. Morey and I were so worried about you." She turned around and yelled towards her house. "Morey, Lorelai's fine."

Lorelai shook her head. "If you don't mind, I'm on my way towards the diner."

"Of course not sugar. I don't want to keep you. Say hello to Luke for me okay?"

"I will." Lorelai left before Babette had a chance to say anything else. She hoped she wouldn't run in to anyone else before she reached the diner. But her silent prayers were unheard as she ran into Miss Patty.

"Lorelai honey, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine Patty."

"Oh, that's wonderful news. We started to worry about you. Luke has been taking that beautiful son of yours to the diner every single day this week, and we haven't seen you at all. I tried talking to Luke, but he refused to say anything."

"Well, I'm fine. The babies are fine, so stop worrying. I better go now. I was on my way to see Luke. Bye Patty." Lorelai was already tired from her walk. Carrying twins was heavy, but carrying them in the heat….. Nonetheless she found all the energy she had inside her and quickened her pace before Miss Patty could say anything else. She almost reached the diner when Taylor stepped out of the soda shop.

"Lorelai, I'm glad to see you."

She sighed. "What is it Taylor."

"You have to do something about that husband of yours……."

-xxxxxx-

Luke was walking around with the coffee pot when he glanced outside the window. He was surprised to see Lorelai talking to Taylor. He turned to face Lucan. "See who's here?"

The little boy walked towards the window and put his nose on the glass. He stared at his mother for a few minutes and then turned around with a big smile. "Mama." He walked towards the door and tried to reach for the doorknob. But even when he was standing on his toes, he was too small.

Luke smiled and placed the coffee pot on an empty table before helping his son. "There you go." He opened the door and took Lucan's hand in his while they walked down the stairs.

"Mama." Lucan pulled his hand away from Luke and ran towards his mother.

Lorelai turned around in relieve when she heard his voice. She took his hand in hers. "Sorry Taylor, I've to go."

"But I'm not done yet."

Lorelai ignored Taylor's protests as she walked towards the diner where Luke was watching her with an amused smile. She shot him an angry look as she climbed the stairs and entered the diner.

Luke turned around to follow her when suddenly Taylor was standing in front of him. "You better go talk to your wife. It's very rude to walk away in the middle of a conversation. I've received several complains about her behavior over the past few weeks and I didn't believe them at first, but this is unacceptable.

"Shut up Taylor." Luke pushed past him and entered his diner, slamming the door in Taylor's face.

Lorelai was the one with an amused smile now, but it quickly faded when she remembered how Luke acted towards her the past few days.

"What are you doing here?" Luke picked up the coffee pot and walked behind the counter.

"What? Am I not allowed to come here anymore?"

"I didn't say that. Of course you're allowed to come over. Any time you want."

"Then why have you been avoiding me the past few days?"

"What makes you think I'm avoiding you? That's crazy."

She looked at him, hurt. "Now I'm crazy? I haven't seen you for days. You leave first thing in the morning with Lucan and you don't come home until after I fell asleep. I know you're avoiding me Luke."

"Lorelai no, I would never avoid you." He walked around the counter and sat down on the stool next to her. "I love you Lorelai, and the only thing I was doing was making sure you had your hands empty. I know how hard it is for you to be around Lucan without actually being able to carry him around. I want everything to be perfect for you."

"But normally you bring me some food. You didn't do that. You sent Lane."

He sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry. It's been crazy around here. But you're right, it does sound like I was avoiding you. I didn't intend to though. I really missed you the past week."

She gave him a tearful look. "I missed you too."

He pulled her in a hug and tried to get as close to her as possible. Then he felt something pulling at his pants. Letting go of Lorelai he stared in the eyes of his son.

"Dada." Lucan had his arms in the air and both Luke and Lorelai laughed.

Luke lifted him in his lap and placed a kiss on top of his head. "Looks like he's feeling left out too."

Lorelai took Lucan's hand in hers. "I missed you too buddy. Have you been a good boy to your daddy?"

Lucan raised his shoulders and smiled, putting his head against Luke's chest.

"What's he been up to?"

"Nothing really. He was perfect."

"Good." She leaned forward and kissed Luke.

Then suddenly they heard tapping on the window. They stared at the door first, but then moved their heads towards the Soda shop. Taylor was standing there, looking really mad.

"Oh oh." Lucan smiled.

Luke stared in Lorelai's eyes. "What did you say to him?"

"Who, me?" Lorelai gave Luke an innocent look. "He wanted to talk about you. He told me you've been acting grumpy the past few weeks and received a few complains about you. What did he say to you?"

"About the same thing, only about you."

Lorelai shook her head. "I wonder what he's up to now." Taylor was still tapping on the window, trying to get their attention. "Why doesn't he just come in here?"

"Because I told him to stay outside and threw the door in his face."

Lorelai smiled. "That's my husband." She leaned in for another kiss and placed a kiss on top of Lucan's head as well. "So, what's the reason you were so grumpy the past few days?"

He looked down as he confessed. "I missed you."

"I was right at home. All you should have done was come over there and I would have been right there, waiting for you."

He sighed as he looked up. "I know. And I'm sorry."

"Me too."

"So what are you planning on doing this afternoon?"

She raised her shoulders. "I was hoping I could spend some time with my husband and my son. But I understand if you have to work. It's pretty busy around here."

He could here the sarcasm in her voice and even if her voice would have been even, the sarcasm was obvious as the diner was almost empty. "What did you have in mind? I can go home with you for a few hours if you want."

"Can I just hang around here for a while?"

"Sure. Of course. But the stools aren't comfortable."

"I'll try the chairs and if my back starts to ache there's always that nice couch upstairs."

"Good." Then he shot Taylor an angry look. "If he doesn't stop soon he's going to break the window."

"Well, then he won't be able to tap it anymore."

"No, then he can just yell at me without the window blocking out his voice."

She smiled widely. "You better do something to stop him then. He's going to scare away your customers."

Luke stood up, placing Lucan on the floor. Then he walked outside and into the soda shop.

Lorelai watched how Luke went to Taylor and started yelling. She smiled when Lucan pointed his finger towards the window. "Dada ugh."

"Your daddy is mad. Do you think we should go there and help him out?"

"Dada."

"Yeah you're right. Your daddy can handle it. He's a big boy."

-xxxxxx-

Half an hour later Lorelai had gone up to the apartment together with Lucan. Her back started to ache from the uncomfortable chairs and when she started complaining, Luke send her upstairs. He looked up when the doorbell rang and a few of the Stars Hallow woman and Kirk entered.

"Hello Luke. Is Lorelai around?" Kirk asked.

"She's upstairs."

"Oh good." They were about to head up when he stopped them.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Oh Sugar." Babette stepped forward. "We are having a baby shower for Lorelai. We were planning on having it at the house, but then she came over here so we decided to move the party here as well. You don't mind do you? She's been in the house for over a week. She will love the distraction."

"Yeah exactly." Miss Patty was standing next to her friend.

Sookie was standing in the back so Luke turned to her for help. "Does she know about this?"

"No, but I'm sure she'll love it. She's feeling left out at the inn, and this is something to distract her before the babies are born. And they all brought gifts and you know how much Lorelai loves those."

He nodded, ready to give in. "Let me just check upstairs if it's okay with her."

They all cheered when Luke started climbing the stairs.

He knocked on the apartment door and stepped inside. "Lorelai?"

"Hey." She was lying on the couch, watching TV. "What's going on down there?"

"There are some people here to see you. If you're up to it."

Before Luke had the chance to say anything else, they all entered the apartment. "Welcome to your baby shower."

Lorelai smiled and nodded to let Luke know it was ok. "You might want to take Lucan downstairs. I don't think he can handle this."

Luke nodded and took the boy in his arms. "We men are downstairs if you need us."

"I don't think so. But we'll call if there's something."

They watched until Luke was gone before they started emptying their bags. "We have games and presents. And Rory will be here in ten minutes. We were supposed to get here all together, but she ran into some heavy traffic on the way here so…"

"Rory's coming too?" Lorelai smiled widely. "Thanks you guys. This was just what I needed."

"No problem."

Sookie sat down next to her friend. "So, are you ready to open your present."

"Absolutely."

Everybody brought something. There were lots of clothes and toys for the twins. And a few brought gifts that were more for Lorelai than for the babies. Shower gel, perfume, shampoo and Miss Patty brought a sexy negligee. "For after the twins are born," she said with a wink.

Lorelai smiled. "Thanks you guys. Was this all?"

"You haven't received my gift yet." Rory entered the living room and Lorelai's smile became even wider.

"Hey honey."

"Hey mom." Rory hugged her mom and handed her two small boxes.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

Lorelai nodded and carefully opened the boxes. Inside were two small golden bracelets.

"One for each twin. I will let the jeweler engrave their names inside after they are born."

"Rory, it's beautiful. Thank you." Lorelai pulled her daughter in a hug. "I love it."

"Your welcome. I knew you would."

"So, are you ready for some games?" Kirk was holding roles of toilet paper in his hands.

"Uh sure…."

They teamed up and one had to play the 'baby' and the other had to make a diaper out of toilet paper. The team who did it fastest won. Lorelai and Rory were together, and since Lorelai spend the past year and half cleaning a lot of diapers, they won. Sookie and Babette were a close second. Kirk and Gypsy were third and he kept complaining that it was her fault they lost because she didn't stand still.

"Oh Kirk, you're such a baby." Gypsy yelled at him and everybody laughed.

After this game they played several other games. "What to do if the babies… and think of as much baby names starting with a…. name as many baby items as you can…. How well do you know the mommy to be, where they had to write down what who they think the babies will look like most, baby bingo and baby Pictionary.

Luke provided them with drinks and cake and some other junk food. Rory had told him that she was the one who planned the party together with Sookie and reminded him how much her mother loved crazy parties like this. He hung around a little bit longer than he needed to when he was up there, and inwardly smiled when he saw how much fun Lorelai was having.

After everybody left he went upstairs to check up on Lorelai. He found her asleep on the couch. She looked exhausted, but completely satisfied. With a smile he went back downstairs, knowing how right they had been when they said it was just what Lorelai needed.

After he cleaned up the diner he went upstairs to get Lorelai. She was still asleep so he placed a kiss on her front head.

She slowly opened her eyes. "Hey. What time is it?"

"Almost eight thirty."

"Where's Lucan." She sat up and looked around."

"Downstairs. He's asleep in his playpen."

She wiped the sleep out of her eyes. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yeah. Let's go get Lucan and go home. I packed us dinner."

"Dinner sounds good." She smiled. "I need some help here."

He helped her up and placed an arm around you. "I told Lane that I'm not coming in tomorrow. We can do whatever you want."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. I want to spend as much time with you as possible. It's going to be really busy around the house after the twins are born, and we should spend as much time together as we can now."

"I agree."

They walked downstairs where Luke took Lucan out of the playpen. They went outside where Luke closed the diner.

"Are you up for a walk or do you want to take the truck?"

"I don't think I could make it home walking."

"So the truck it is." He opened the door for her and placed Lucan in her lap. He lay with his back against the door and his head rested on her stomach. He was still asleep.

"He fits there perfectly."

She nodded with a smile. "Yeah he does. I miss holding him you know."

"I do." He started the car and they drove home in silence, enjoying spending a few minutes together. When they arrived home Luke walked around the car and took Lucan so Lorelai could get out. She carried the food in the house and went to the kitchen to gets plates, while Luke walked upstairs and put Lucan to bed.

When Luke came downstairs he found Lorelai in the kitchen. She set the table and lit a few candles. She smiled at him. "Hey."

"Hey." He kissed her before he sat down across from her at the table.

They ate together while Luke caught her up on his week and she told him all about the baby shower.

"You really enjoyed it, didn't you?"

She smiled. "I did. I mean, the games are stupid and all, but I like it. I just wish my mother could have been there."

"She would have hated it."

"You think?"

He raised his eyebrows pointedly.

"Okay, maybe you're right. But still, she would have to loved to be included in it. Even if she hated all the gifts they gave me and the stupid games we played."

"Talking about your gifts, we forgot them in the diner."

"That's okay. We can get them tomorrow. It's not like I fit in the negligee Patty gave me right now anyway."

"What?"

"I'm sure you'll like it. I'll show it to you in a couple of months. But right now, all I want is going to bed. I know I slept for a couple of hours already, but I still feel exhausted. Plus, I missed falling asleep in your arms the past few days. I tried to stay awake, but I just couldn't keep my eyes open."

"I'm here now, and I'll be more than happy to hold you in my arms. Why don't you go upstairs and change, and then I'll clean up here?"

"Sounds perfect." She stood up and climbed the stairs. She entered Lucan's room first and smiled when she saw that he was asleep with his hands into fists next to his head. She ran a hand through his hair as she couldn't reach far enough down to kiss him. She watched him for a few more seconds before she walked into the bathroom to change. Luke joined her in the bathroom and they brushed their teeth together. Then they went into the bathroom where Lorelai lay down on her side and Luke spooned behind her, putting his arm over her side onto her abdomen. He traced circles with his hand as he enjoyed the feeling of having her in his arms.

When he leaned up a couple of minutes later so he could kiss her, she was already asleep. With a smile he lay back down and soon fell asleep himself.

T.B.C.


	31. The twins

_A/N: Once again thanks to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter. It hasn't been that long since I last updated so I'm really proud at myself. I hate to keep you waiting. __For those of you who don't know it yet, my great friend Akarana and some others started a ficathon with the name "Leopold and Loeb – JJ Baby ficathon. You should check out her profile if you want to participate. It's going to be fun!! Please let me know if I have to send you the link. _  
_As the title says, this chapter is all about the twins. Please leave me a review!!_

**Chapter 31 – The twins **

_-xxx **July 28th** xxx- _

Lorelai just finished folding the laundry when she felt a sharp pain in her back. She didn't realize what it was at first so she didn't tell Luke when he helped her with the laundry basket, but when she felt the same thing again an hour later and an hour after that, she realized they were contractions. They weren't strong but they definitely were contractions. She smiled and hoped it wouldn't be long before the babies would come now.

_-xxx** 4 days later **xxx-_

When Lorelai opened her eyes she stared in the eyes of Luke. He seemed concerned. She stared at him for a few seconds and then looked around the room. It didn't seem familiar at first, but then she remembered where she was.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, as he took Lorelai's hand in his.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Good." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "The doctor will be here to check up on you soon."

She nodded again. "Have you called my mother to check up on Lucan?"

"Yeah. He's fine. He slept through the night and didn't wake up until 8 this morning. They gave him breakfast and he's playing with your father at the moment. He loves staying at your parents."

"Good." She closed her eyes for a few seconds before she opened them again. "How long did I sleep?"

"Half an hour or so."

She sighed. "That explains why I feel so tired."

He smiled slightly and placed another kiss on her forehead. "You're doing great."

"Yeah. I hope so. I feel like I've been here forever."

"Just for a couple of hours."

Then another contraction hit her. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. He flinched in pain as she did the same, cursing that he did this to her. When the contraction subsided she fell back into the pillow, exhausted. "I wish they'd come out already."

"I would do it for you if I could, but I can't."

"Yeah yeah. The men only have to do the fun part in this. As long as you know that I'm never going to let you touch me again."

He had to keep in the smile, knowing that would only piss her off at the moment. He knew that in a couple of weeks she'd forget all about the delivery process and would think completely different about the subject. But he wisely kept his mouth shut. He simply said. "I know."

Then dr. Elder walked in. "How are you feeling Lorelai?"

"Perfect." With sarcasm obvious in her voice. "Couldn't be better. Isn't it time for an epidural yet?"

"Let's see how far you are."

Lorelai nodded.

Dr. Elder performed her examination and checked the monitor to see how Lorelai's contractions were going. Then she stood next to the bed. "You're 3 centimeters dilated. The contractions are about 15 minutes apart. It's a bit too soon for an epidural."

"Ugh.." Lorelai looked defeated. "How much longer?"

"It depends on how fast the labor is progressing. Right now I feel like it's going a bit too slow. Maybe we have to consider a c-section."

"What, no." Lorelai looked at Luke, who was looking at doctor Elder with a shocked look on his face.

"Why?"

"Because Lorelai is not progressing as fast as we want. It's been almost 10 hours since her water broke. When she was brought in a couple of hours ago she was 2 cm dilated and now she's 3. Considering her age it may be better to do a c-section. And if we are doing one, it'd better be sooner rather than later."

Lorelai shook her head. "I don't want a c-section. I know that I don't like these contractions, but I know that I can do it. Isn't there something else we can do?"

"We can give you a medicine called Pitocin through your I.V. It's a medicine that stimulates contractions and will help speed up the pace of labor."

Lorelai nodded. "Do it."

Luke however wanted to know some more. "Are there disadvantages to this drug?"

"It can speed up the labor so much, that the contractions may become difficult to handle."

Lorelai turned to look at Luke. "Let's try it okay? It's better than a c-section."

He sighed and then nodded. "Okay. If that's what you want."

"It's what I want."

They both turned to look at doctor Elder. "I'll tell one of the nurses to give you the medicine and I'll be back in half an hour to check up on you."

"Okay."

Lorelai watched how dr. Elder walked away and then focused back on Luke. "Did you call Rory?"

"She asked if she should come over. I told her that she shouldn't take the day off and that I'd call her if you're getting closer to delivering the twins."

"Good. That's good." She smiled slightly. "And Sookie?"

"I told Sookie the same thing I told Rory. And I also told her to keep it quiet that we're in the hospital so that the waiting room won't be filled with Stars Hallow citizens soon."

"Smart thinking." She heard the door open so she turned to look who entered.

"Hello Lorelai. I'm Sally. I'm going to be your nurse today." She shook Lorelai's hand and then turned to Luke. "And you must be Lorelai's husband."

"I'm Luke."

"Nice to meet you." She showed Lorelai the syringe she was holding in her hand. "Dr. Elder told me that we're going to give you a drug with a hormone called Oxytocin. Your body produces this hormone as well and it helps with the stimulation of contractions. Since you've been in labor for some time now and it's not really progressing, we decided to give your body some help. The drug takes a few minutes before it starts working and then your contractions should become stronger."

Lorelai nodded. "Okay. Do it"

"There it comes." Sally injected the medicine into Lorelai's I.V. "We are starting with a low dose to see how you react to it."

"Okay."

"I'll be back in a few minutes to check up on you. Is there anything you need. Some ice chips maybe?"

"That would be nice."

"I'll be right back."

Lorelai turned back to Luke. "Now all we can do is wait."

"Are you sure you don't want a c-section."

"I'm sure. I can do this myself. I know I can. I did it with Rory and with Lucan."

"But this is different."

"I don't care. I don't want a c-section unless there is no other option."

"Ok."

After a few minutes Lorelai felt another contraction. She grabbed Luke's hand and squeezed it again. This contraction lasted longer than the once she'd been having for hours now. She was relieved when the contraction was finally over. "I hope they'll give me that epidural soon."

"We have to wait and see how your labor is progressing before we call the anesthesiologist." Sally walked in again with the ice chips.

She looked at the monitor. "Dr. Elder will be here in 25 minutes or so to check up on you. If there will be any reason I can always page her before that."

Lorelai nodded. After a few minutes another contraction hit her. It was as strong as the one she had before. She breathed through the contraction as she squeezed Luke's hand tight. The contractions were much more painful than the ones she had before and by the time Dr. Elder came back in she was really tired.

"How are you doing Lorelai?" Dr. Elder asked when she checked the monitors. "It looks like your contractions are much stronger and come every 4 minutes now."

Lorelai let out a tired "Yeah. Is it time for the epidural yet?"

"Let's check how far you're dilated first, but I think we're getting to the point where an epidural is a good idea." Dr. Elder examined Lorelai. "You're 5 centimeters dilated now. You're doing very well. I'm going to call the anesthesiologist and call him down for the epidural."

"Finally." She looked relieved and then grabbed Luke's hand as another contraction hit her. Once the contraction was over she turned to dr. Elder. "How are the babies doing?"

"They're both doing fine. Their heart rates are strong and they are still in a good position."

"Good."

It wasn't long until an anesthesiologist came in for the epidural. "Hello, I'm doctor Holden." He shook both Lorelai's and Luke's hand. "Have you ever had an epidural before?"

Lorelai shook her head. "When my daughter was born they gave me other drugs and my son was so quick it was too late for an epidural."

"Okay. Let me explain the procedure first. You're going to sit down on the edge of the bed and lean forward. I'm going to give you local anesthetic where I'm going to insert a hollow needle into your lower back. Through this needle I'll insert a catheter. The pain medication will be given to you through this catheter."

"Will it hurt?"

"A little. But that's why I'm giving you the anesthetic first."

"Okay. Do it."

Sally and Luke helped her sit up on the edge of the bed. Luke was told to stand in front of her so that Lorelai could lean on him. Sally assisted dr. Holden through the procedure. They had to stop once because of another contraction. But once the epidural started to work, the contractions became easier for Lorelai. She even managed to fall asleep again. Dr. Elder checked up on her occasionally and it was almost 1 o clock in the afternoon when they told Lorelai it was almost time to go to the delivery room. Because both babies were still in a good position it wasn't necessary to go to an operating room. A normal delivery room was chosen instead.

While they wheeled Lorelai to the delivery room, Luke went to make a few phone calls. He first called Emily.

"Gilmore Residence."

"Sophia, this is Luke. Is Mrs. Gilmore there?"

"Of course. Just a second."

"Luke?" Emily's voice was heard seconds later.

"Yeah it's me. They're bringing Lorelai to the delivery room now. It won't be long."

"Good. Do you think I can come over?"

"I don't know if this is such a good place for Lucan."

"Richard can stay with him. We just put him down for a nap anyway."

"Okay. I'll see you soon." He felt someone tap his shoulder. "Emily hold on.." He turned around and looked at Sally.

"You have to come in now."

"Okay." And then to Emily. "They're telling me to go back in. Can you do me a favor and call Rory for me?"

"Of course. I'll call her and then come to the hospital. Give my love to Lorelai okay?"

"Okay." He hung up and followed Sally into the delivery room." He stood next to Lorelai's bed as Dr. Elder explained what they were going to do.

"You're fully dilated and baby number one is ready to get born. I want you to start pushing on the next contraction, okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Okay."

"Luke, I want you to support Lorelai through the contraction. It's easy for her if you try and hold her up, okay?"

"Okay."

When the next contraction came Luke put an arm under Lorelai's back and hold her up while he hold her hand in his other hand. She pushed as hard as she could for ten seconds, then drew in another deep breath and pushed again. When the contraction was over she let herself fall back into the pillow.

"Very well done Lorelai. The baby is crowing. A few more pushes and you can hold your baby."

She nodded. When another contraction came they repeated the procedure. After 3 more contractions dr. Elder told them she could see the babies hair. After 2 more pushes the head was out and Lorelai was told to stop pushing. Dr. Elder suctioned out the babies nose and mouth and told Lorelai to start pushing again. After one more push the baby was out completely. It didn't take long before the baby's cries filled the room.

Lorelai's eyes filled with tears and when she looked at Luke, she saw his eyes were filled with tears as well. He placed a kiss on her mouth and another one on her forehead while dr. Elder quickly checked the baby and cut the cord. After that she put the baby on Lorelai's chest. Lorelai put her hand on the babies back and kissed the top of it's head. "Hello little baby." She smiled at Luke and he leaned in for another kiss. Then she realized that they didn't know the sex of the baby yet. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a girl." Dr. Elder told her.

"We have a girl Luke. A baby girl."

He nodded with a smile.

"Okay Lorelai. We have to take your baby girl away from you now, because there is still one baby in there waiting to be born."

Lorelai nodded as she let a nurse take the baby away. She focused on Dr. Elder again.

"I'm going to check if the baby is still in a good position."

"Ok."

She looked at Luke while dr. Elder performed her examination. "I love you" He whispered.

"I love you too." Then they looked at dr. Elder.

"I'm sorry, but the baby turned into a breech position."

"How is that possible? He was in the right position before right?"

"Yes, but sometimes after the first baby is born the second baby turns because it has suddenly more space. I'm going to try and turn your baby."

Lorelai nodded, suddenly feeling scared. She took Luke's hand and squeezed it tight.

"Okay Lorelai, it's important that you try and relax."

"Okay." She took in a deep breath and let it go. She focused on Luke and tried to ignore what dr. Elder was doing.

"You're doing great honey." Luke whispered. "You're amazing."

She let out another deep breath.

"Soon this will be over and we'll be able to hold our son and our daughter. Your mom will be here and Rory will be here and your father will bring Lucan over so he can see his little brother and sister."

She nodded. "Is my mom here yet?"

"I don't know. I'm sure she is. We'll be able to tell her soon that she's a grandmother again." He kissed her forehead. "I'm so proud of you."

She took in another deep breath that quickly escaped when suddenly one of the monitors started beeping. "What's happening?"

"The baby's heart rate is dropping. We have to get him out now. I was able to turn the baby so you have to start pushing again."

Lorelai nodded tiredly.

"You're almost there Lorelai. A few more pushes and you'll get to meet your son."

When another contraction hit her she squeezed Luke's hand again and started pushing with everything she had inside her. In 3 pushes the babies head was out and after another one the baby was out completely. They all held their breaths and waited for the baby to cry. When the baby started crying both Luke and Lorelai did the same.

"Luke, do you want to cut the cord?"

He nodded as he took the scissors.

"Okay, right here between the clamps."

"Here?" Luke put the scissors on the cord. When dr. Elder nodded he cut the cord.

"Well done. Now you can hand your son to your wife."

Luke took the baby in his hands and carefully placed him on Lorelai's stomach. Luke kissed Lorelai and then kissed the top of the baby's head. They watched their son while he kept crying. They knew that in the next couple of weeks his crying would drive them crazy, but right now it was the most beautiful sound they had ever heard.

-xxxxxx-

Emily was pacing in the waiting room when Rory arrived. "Grandma?"

"Hello Rory."

"Are the babies born yet?"

"I don't know. They won't tell me anything."

"I heard some crying coming from that room earlier but I don't know in which room Lorelai is. They just told me to sit down here and someone would come to me as soon as there is news."

"I'm sure mom and the babies are fine."

"I hope so Rory." Emily sat down and Rory did the same.

"Is Lucan with grandpa?"

"Yeah. Lucan is napping and your grandfather had some business to take care of. He will come here as soon as Lucan wakes up from his nap."

Rory nodded. Then the door where Emily heard the crying coming from earlier opened and Luke stepped out. A proud look on his face. Both Emily and Rory stood up and asked "And?"

"Both Lorelai and the babies are doing fine."

They let out a sigh of relieve and walked towards Luke. "Can we see them?"

"Of course." He walked back into the room and stopped next to Lorelai's bed. She was sitting up with both babies in her arms. She was still tired but feeling a lot better after being able to shower and change in something else.

Rory hugged her mother and kissed her cheek. "Congratulations mom."

Emily followed her granddaughter's example and hugged Lorelai as well. "Congratulations Lorelai."

"Thanks." Lorelai smiled widely. "Are you ready to meet your granddaughter and your grandson?"

"They are beautiful Lorelai."

"Yeah mom. They really are." Rory sat down on the bed and looked at her brother and sister. "Lucan is going to be so jealous."

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Lorelai looked at her mother.

"He was asleep when I left. Your father will bring him over as soon as he's awake."

"Good. I want him to meet his little brother and sister."

"What are their names mom?"

"This, she pointed at the boy, is Samuel Richard Danes. We will call him Sam." She looked at Rory. "Do you want to hold your baby brother?"

She nodded happily and carefully took her baby brother in her arms. "He's so tiny."

"You were that tiny too one day. And so was Lucan."

"It's hard to believe that."

"I know. Both of you are growing up so fast. I can only hope these two will stay this small forever."

Rory smiled. "I guess you just have to enjoy it as long as they are. I don't think you can keep them this small."

"Shhh you." Then she turned to Luke. "Why don't you hand our daughter to my mother so they can meet?"

He stood up and took the baby from Lorelai. He walked around the bed and carefully placed her in Emily's arms. "Meet your granddaughter."

Emily looked at the little girl in her arms. "She's so beautiful. She looks exactly like you as a baby."

"Don't say that. I was an ugly baby. I had a head the size of a watermelon."

"No. You were beautiful. And so is she. What's her name?"

Lorelai and Luke looked at each other and smiled knowingly. Then they turned to Emily. "Here name is Emilyn Mia Danes, with Emilyn as her first name."

Emily's eyes filled with tears immediately as she looked up at her daughter. "You named her after me?"

Lorelai nodded. "We did."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Emily stood up and handed the baby to Luke and then took the remaining step to the bed and hugged Lorelai. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I think I do." Lorelai held her mother tight for a few seconds and then released her, kissing her cheek. "I love you mom."

"I love you too Lorelai."

Emily sat back down and Luke handed her the little girl again.

"So mom, what's the story behind Sam's name? I mean, I get Richard but…"

"Luke's mother was named Samantha. We named him after her."

Rory turned to look at Luke. "Your mother's name was Samantha? I didn't know that."

"Oh hon, there's so much you don't know about Luke."

Rory smiled, knowing her mother was probably right. "And you do?"

"Not yet. But that keeps things interested. He doesn't know everything about me either."

-xxxxxx-

Both twins were asleep in their bassinet when Richard walked in with Lucan. The little boy struggled to get out of his grandfather's arms the minute he saw his parents.

"Dada." He ran towards the chair his father was sitting and lifted up his little arms.

Luke put his son in his lap. "Hey buddy. Did you have a good time with your grandpa?"

Lucan smiled and then turned around. "Mama." He reached his arms towards his mother who took him in her arms. Lorelai hugged him tight against her, as she hadn't been able to do it for way too long now.

"It's so good I can hold him again." She kissed both his cheeks, his nose and his forehead. It made him laugh and he placed his wet lips on her cheek. They all laughed when Lorelai wiped away the spit. "Do you want to meet your new brother and sister?"

Lorelai let Luke take him and climbed out of the bed. A bit uneasy she walked towards the bassinet where both babies were lying. "look" Luke pointed at the bassinet and Lucan looked down.

"This are your little brother and sister. Sam and Emilyn."

"Ugh."

"No ugh. Baby. Can you say baby?" Lorelai looked at her son. "Baby."

"Buh."

She smiled. "Close enough."

"They're beautiful Lorelai." Richard hugged his daughter. "You did a great job."

She nodded. "Can you help me back to the bed?"

Richard supported her and slowly they walked back to the bed. There Lorelai started to tell about how the labor wasn't progressing at first and they had to give her medicine to help with the contractions. She told them how Emilyn was born first, and how little Sam had given them a scare after that. They talked until Lucan started to get bored and annoyed and both twins woke up hungry and crying.

"I think we're going to take Lucan home so you can feed the twins." Emily looked at Richard who nodded in agreement.

"Okay. I'll call you tomorrow to let you know what time we're going home so you can meet us there."

"Okay sounds good." Richard took Lucan from Luke. "Say bye bye."

He waved with his hand. "Ba ba."

"Bye honey." Lorelai waved at her son and watched how her parents walked away.

"I'm going to go too. I'm sure Warren has dinner ready by now. I kind of forgot to call him."

"Oops." Lorelai smiled and hugged her daughter. "Do I see you tomorrow too?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss the twin's homecoming for the world. I missed too much with Lucan, and I plan on missing nothing with these two."

"I'm not sure if that's going to work, but we'll be happy to see you as much as possible."

Once Rory left Luke and Lorelai were left alone with the twins. Luke took both of them from their crib. "Which one is going first?"

"Uhm… which one seems more hungry?"

"I don't know."

"Okay, Emilyn then since she's older."

While Lorelai fed their daughter Luke walked around with their son. After Emilyn had enough they switched and Lorelai started feeding Sam while Luke let Emilyn burp and changed her diaper. He handed Emilyn back to Lorelai once Sam was done eating and did the same with him. Then he sat down on the bed next to Lorelai where they just watched how their two children slowly drifted to sleep. And when a nurse came in fifteen minutes later to check up on them she smiled at the sight in front of her. Both parents were asleep with the babies on their chests. She took a blanket from the closet and covered them, knowing they'd need as much sleep as possible.

T.B.C.


	32. In it together

_A/N: It's hard to believe how fast time passes and how the things you want to do, are always put on the background. Same for writing this chapter. I wrote half of it weeks ago, but didn't have time to sit down and finish it until yesterday. I sincerely apologize for the delay!!  
__Thanks to those who read and reviewed the last chapter. And I hope you like this one!!!_

**Chapter 32 – In it together**

Luke stayed home for two weeks after the twins were born but couldn't stay away from the diner much longer. As much as he wanted to, his employees deserved their much needed break.

"Do you want me to take Lucan to work?" Luke asked as he studied his wife. She was sitting up in bed while she was nursing Sam. Emilyn was still asleep and so was Lucan.

Lorelai shook her head. "Nah let him sleep. I don't want him to feel like he has to leave the house while the babies can stay home with mommy."

"But he gets more attention when he's with me. Plus he likes it at the diner."

Lorelai sighed. "I understand that, but no. Let him stay. I'll be fine. And if not I promise to call you right away so you can pick him up and take him to the diner after all. Deal?"

"Deal." He sat down on the bed next to Lorelai as he closed the last button of his flannel shirt. "I'll call you in a couple of hours. Try to get some sleep when the kids do."

"Will do." She smiled. "Don't worry so much okay. I'll be fine. I promise."

"I know." He leaned in to kiss her. "I love you."

"I love you too. But now go because you know Kirk is sitting on the steps in front of the diner waiting for you to let him in."

"Please don't remind me." He rolled his eyes which made Lorelai laugh.

"Get your up butt out here."

"Yeah yeah." He kissed her once more and stood up. "Call me okay?"

"I will." After Luke was gone she focused her attention on Sam who was almost asleep. She moved her thumb across his little cheek after which he started drinking again. She smiled as she enjoyed this little moment with her son. The house was completely quiet and the light started fighting it's way in through the curtains. She then looked at the clock and saw it was a quarter before six. Yawning she looked at her son and saw how he had fallen back asleep again. She put him on her legs as she adjusted her night gown. Lifting the baby up against her chest she got out of bed and walked into the nursery.

After she put Sam in bed and was about to walk back towards her own bedroom she heard crying coming from the other basinet. She hurried towards her daughter not wanting her to wake up Sam. "Shhh…. Baby." She whispered as she took the little girl in her arms. "Mommy's here."

She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Are you hungry as well my princess?"

Emilyn stared at her mother with her huge blue eyes. She had calmed down the minute Lorelai had taken her in her arms but was not planning on going back asleep.

With a smile Lorelai once again opened her nightgown so she could nurse the little baby. Even though she was tired she enjoyed the moment with Emilyn as much as she did with Sam earlier. She knew that in a couple of weeks she would turn on the TV while nursing the babies, but now all she could do was watch them while they were drinking, her attention completely focused on them.

After about fifteen minutes Emilyn fell back asleep as well so Lorelai put her in bed. Going upstairs she listened at Lucan's door and was happy when she heard absolutely nothing. The boy was obviously still sleeping. She took a quick bathroom break and climbed back into bed. She checked if both baby monitors were turned on before she snuggled under the blankets and soon was asleep again herself.

-xxxxxx-

"Mama." Lorelai slowly opened her eyes and tried to adjust to the light. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes and sat up in bed, checking the alarm. It was a quarter past 7 now which meant she was able to catch almost an extra hour of sleep this morning. Satisfied with that thought she got out of bed and slipped into her bathrobe.

Lucan was already standing up in bed and smiled widely when his mother entered his room. "Mama."

"Hey buddy." Lorelai smiled as well as she took Lucan out of his bed. "Did you sleep okay honey?"

He pressed his lips against her cheek in response.

"I love you sweetie." She kissed the top of his head. "Let's go downstairs and get some breakfast huh. I'm pretty hungry. How about you?"

She descended the stairs and entered the kitchen where she placed Lucan in his chair. She filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove while she put a bowl with milk in the microwave for Lucan's oatmeal. Looking in the fridge she tried to decide what she would have for breakfast and wasn't really happy with what she saw. There was a lot of fruit because Luke had this crazy idea that she had to eat healthy because she was nursing the twins. With a sigh she picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number of the diner.

"Luke's."

"Hello, this is a very hungry woman that has absolutely no food in her fridge and was hoping to get a special delivery of pancakes and eggs. Since she can't get out of the house with 2 sleeping infants." She could almost see Luke's smile through the phone as she spoke the words.

"That's weird." He responded. "When I left this morning there was a fridge full of food. We have fruit and yogurt. There are rolls, there's oatmeal…"

"Yada yada yada."

"Come on. You have to eat healthy."

"I want blueberry pancakes Luke. Blueberries are healthy. You have to admit that."

"I'll send Lane over with blueberry pancakes if you skip the eggs and eat a bowl of yogurt and fruit."

"Luke. I need normal food. I'm nursing your children."

"That's exactly my point."

"I'll eat a bowl of yogurt and fruit if you send me pancakes and eggs. And bacon."

"Since when do you want bacon as well?"

"Right now. Come on. I'll eat a whole bowl of healthy food. Just for you."

"Fine." He sighed as he gave in. Knowing it was a losing battle.

"Good."

"How are the kids?"

"Lucan is sitting in the high chair waiting for his breakfast and both twins are asleep. It such a miracle how they manage to sleep in the morning while they stay awake half the night."

"I guess they're tired in the morning. Did you manage to get some sleep or did Lucan wake up by the time they went to sleep?"

"I slept almost an hour before Lucan woke up."

"Sounds good. I think I'll go lie down upstairs when things get more quiet around here."

"Hey, that's not fair. I can't do that."

"With some luck you can while Lucan has his afternoon nap."

"I hope so."

"Do you need me to come home? I can call Caesar and get him to come in. No problem."

"We already discussed this. I'm fine. You need to work. I'll see you tonight okay?"

"Okay. Lane will be there with your breakfast in a couple of minutes."

"You're a doll."

He shook his head. "Later crazy lady."

"Later burger boy." She put the phone down and took Lucan's bowl out of the microwave. She put in the oatmeal powder and mixed it. While it had the perfect thickness she put it on the table in front of Lucan and went back to the kitchen counter to get herself some tea. When she turned around to walk back to the table she gasped.

Lucan had reached for his plate and was covered with oatmeal. It was everywhere. In his hair, his face, all across the table.

"Lucan." She sighed as she put her cup on the counter and took a towel. "Why did you do that? You know you can't do it yourself and that you have to wait for mommy."

Lucan was looking at her with an innocent look on his face that said 'what did I do wrong?' When he noticed the angry look on his mother's face and the annoyance in her voice he started crying.

"Oh come on. Don't cry. It's not so bad." She tried wiping away the oatmeal from his face and hands but he was all sticky. So instead she took him out of the high chair and kept him on arm length while she carried him over to the counter. This made Lucan cry even harder. He had no idea what he did wrong and why his mother wasn't giving him a hug while he cried.

She put him next to the sink and put water on the towel. This made it easier to wipe away the oatmeal. She cleaned his face and his hands and tried to clean his hair as good as possible. "I guess you need a shower or a bath to get you all cleaned up huh." Now that he wasn't as sticky as before and the chance that she could get covered in oatmeal as well had dropped she picked him up and hugged him. "Mommy's not mad at you honey. She knows that you were only trying to help." She kissed the top of his head. "But please, don't ever try to help mommy in such way again okay?"

Lucan was too upset to calm down immediately and as if that wasn't bad enough, both twins started crying as well.

"Come on Lucan. Everything is okay now. Mommy will make you new breakfast soon but she has to check up on your brother and sister first okay?"

She walked towards the nursery and opened the door. She doubted what to do. Try and comfort Lucan first and let the two of them cry or put Lucan on the floor and pick up the babies. Hearing the twins cry made her breasts hurt so she hugged Lucan, placed a kiss on top of his head and then put him on the floor. He started crying harder but she ignored it and walked towards the basinets, taking first Emilyn and then Sam in her arms. She started walking around with the babies in the hope that would comfort them while her heart broke as she saw Lucan sitting on the floor crying his eyes out.

"Lorelai?" Lane entered the house and followed the sound into the nursery. "Lorelai?"

Lorelai turned around and faced her daughter's best friend. "Oh Lane. Hey."

"Hi. Do you need some help."

Lorelai nodded. "Could you please take Lucan? Or the twins?"

Lane nodded as she leaned down to pick up Lucan. "What's wrong with him?"

"He spilled oatmeal all over the kitchen table and himself and started crying when he found out I didn't like it as much as he did. I tried cleaning him up and comforting him but then the twins started crying and I didn't really know what to do."

"Understandable." Lane hugged Lucan. "Poor you. Not getting all the attention from your mom that you were used to. Thinking of it I'm glad that I'm an only child. Although I could have used a lot less attention from my mother while I was growing up. Tough call."

Lorelai smiled as the twins started to calm down a little. "Could you take Lucan into the living room and feed him some of the pancakes? Then I'll change diapers on these two and see if I can get them back asleep."

"Of course."

Lorelai put the twins down on the double changing table and put the gate in front of Emilyn so she couldn't fall off while she changed Sam's diaper. Afterwards she closed the gate on Sam's side while she changed Emilyn and then picked up both babies and put them back in their beds. After she made sure they stayed quiet and went back to sleep she went towards the living room.

Lucan was sitting on the couch next to Lane and was happily eating pieces of pancake.

"I guess he likes that better than the oatmeal I made him." Lorelai let herself fall down in the big arm chair.

"Yeah I think he does."

"You can go back to the diner now. I'm sure Luke needs you."

"I can stay here if you want. I don't mind helping out with Lucan and the twins."

"Nah I'm okay now. I was just a bit overwhelmed by the moment. The twins are back to sleep and Lucan is satisfied with the pancakes."

"You sure?"

"Positive. But Lane please do me a favor."

"Of course."

"Don't tell Luke about this okay? He'll rush home the second he hears about this, leaving you and Jake alone at the diner."

"We won't mind that at all. We're more than happy to help out in any way we can. We have no idea what it's like to take care of 3 small children but from what I just witnessed it's a lot of work. You should take all the help you can get."

"And I'll ask for it when I really need it. But I'm okay for now. Just go back to the diner and tell Luke that we're doing fine. Because that's how we're doing at this exact moment. Fine."

"Okay I will. But you shouldn't lie to him."

"I'll tell him when he gets home tonight. That's soon enough."

"If that's what you want."

"It is." Lorelai forced a smile. "Now go."

"I'm going already." She ran her hand through Lucan's hair. "Be nice to your mommy okay?"

He smiled as he took another bit of pancake.

"I'll just take that as a yes."

Lorelai sat down on the couch next to Lucan after Lane left. "You feeling better now?"

He responded by handing her a piece of pancake.

"Thank you sweetie." She smiled as she put the piece of pancake in her mouth. "Now this is real food."

-xxxxxx-

By the time the twins woke up again, Lorelai had given Lucan a bath and had dressed herself. Lucan was playing with his toy cars on the floor which allowed her to turn all her attention on the babies. She put one baby in the rocking in front of her on the table, while she nursed the other one. After she switched babies, Lucan got up to see what his mother was up to.

"Bubu."

"Baby." She smiled. "This is your sister. Emilyn. Can you say that?"

"Nnnnnnnnnnn." He said as he pointed at the baby in Lorelai's arms.

She smiled. "Very good. And what's your brother's name? Can you say Sam?"

"Am." He said, with a very proud look on his face.

"Wow. You're really good. And what's your name?"

He raised his eyebrows, not understanding what his mother was asking.

She smiled again and she pressed her index finger in his stomach. "Lucan."

"Luan." He said, and when he pronounced the letter L, his tongue slipped out of his mouth.

Lorelai laughed. "Good job. You have to show your daddy when he comes home, okay?"

"Dada." Lucan looked towards the front door. "Dada dada."

"No, daddy's not coming home yet

"Dada, dada" Lucan was standing in the hallway now, trying to reach for the door handle.

Lorelai turned around to look at her son. "Lucan, come to mommy."

"No." He yelled. "Dada." He sat down on the floor in front of the door.

"Lucan please. Daddy will be here later. I promise. He has to work now."

"Dada." His voice was barely above a whisper now.

Lorelai looked down at Emilyn, who had fallen asleep in her arms. She carefully placed the girl in her rocking chair and adjusted her clothes. She walked towards the hallway and picked up Lucan. "Daddy is at the diner."

"Dada."

"You wanna go to your daddy? Don't you want to stay with me and help mommy with the babies?"

He looked at his mother. "Dada?"

"Come on." She took his hand in hers and lead him over to the living room. "Do you want to play a game? Where are your cars?" She sat down on the floor next to the toys and pulled him in her lap. She handed him a car.

The distraction worked. He forgot that he wanted his father and ran his car over Lorelai's leg. She smiled as she took another car and drove it around on the floor. Soon they went up completely in the came, everything around them forgotten. That is, until Emilyn started crying. Lorelai kissed the top of Lucan's head as she stood up and walked towards her daughter.

By the time she reached the rocking chairs, Sam had woken up as well and made sure Lorelai heard he was awake also. Lorelai took both babies in her arms, trying to shush them. After they didn't stop crying she went into the nursery to check their diapers. But clean diapers didn't calm them down either. Oblivious to what they wanted she just started walking around with them again, knowing they were fed and clean so that there shouldn't be a reason for them to be upset.

Lucan looked around the living room and realized his mother wasn't there. So he put his cars aside and stood up, trying to find his mother. He walked into the nursery and found her there. "Mama" When that didn't caught her attention, he started pulling on her pants.

"Hey." Lorelai looked down at her son. "Mommy's a bit busy now. Why don't you go look for your cars?"

But that's not what he wanted. He wanted attention from his mother, like he got before. So he put his arms in the air, indicating for her to pick him up. "Mama."

"Sorry sweetie, mommy can't pick you up right now." And then towards the babies. "Shhhh… everything's okay." She started walking again, ignoring Lucan's attempts to get her to pick him up.

That upset him so he started crying again as well. At first he begged for Lorelai, but later starting calling his father, who of course couldn't hear him.

Lorelai looked at the twins who remained crying and then looked at Lucan, feeling sorry for him. He was used to getting all the attention and now had to share it with his brother and sister. It was obviously hard on him. Realizing it was impossible to calm the twins down, she decided to focus her attention on Lucan this time. She put the babies in their cribs and kneeled down next to Lucan, taking him in her arms. "I'm sorry sweetie." She walked out of the room and closed the door to the nursery, hoping the twins would calm down by themselves and fall back asleep. And if not, that Lucan would calm down so she could go back to the twins.

It was false hope. Lucan started to calm down a little, but as soon as Lorelai tried putting him down, he started crying again. Not wanting to let go of her. She started to feel desperate. Hearing the twins cry and not being able to do anything and trying to calm down Lucan completely without much of a success, as much as she hated to admit it, she needed help. She walked towards the phone and picked it up, doubting the decision for a moment before she dialed the number.

"Luke's."

She didn't say anything. Tears just filled her eyes as she heard his voice and she hated herself for being a lousy mother. She couldn't even calm down her children without the help of her husband.

"Hello? Who's there?" Luke listened into the phone but all he heard was crying. But not directly into the phone. "Lorelai?"

She sniffled. "Luke?"

"Lorelai, what's wrong?"

"I'm a bad mother."

"What? No. You're not a bad mother. What's going on? I hear crying. Are you crying?"

"No, yes. The twins are crying and Lucan is crying. The twins won't calm down and Lucan won't either. Every time he calms down a little and I try to put him down so I can pick up the twins, he starts crying again.."

"I'll be right there."

"You, you don'…." She looked down at Lucan and the big tears that were rolling down his cheeks. "Thanks."

"No problem." He hung up the phone. "Lane?"

"Yeah? Was that Lorelai?"

"It was, but how did you know?"

"I think she's a bit overwhelmed taking care of all the kids at the same time. They must all want her attention at the same time."

"What happened when you were there this morning?"

"Nothing." She looked away.

"Damn it." He muttered. "I knew something was up. You lied to me."

"I'm sorry. She told me not to tell you. She was okay when I left."

He shook his head. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have left her alone this morning."

She gave him a look of sympathy. "Go home. We'll be just fine in here. I promise."

"Thanks. I'll check in later."

-xxxxxx-

Even from outside Luke could hear the crying going on in the house. He once again blamed himself for leaving Lorelai alone with the kids. He quickened his pace as he took the last few remaining steps to the front door. He found Lorelai in the living room where she was still holding Lucan. He had calmed down but she was clearly upset. The tears were shining through in her eyes as she tried to keep herself together. His heart broke at the sight and all he wanted was to take her in his arms and never let go again. But he heard crying coming from the nursery as well. "What do you want me to do? Take the twins or Lucan?"

She looked at her son and then towards the door of the nursery, not able to choose between her children. She shook her head. "I can't do this."

He walked towards her and took Lucan from her. "Yes you can. Why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep and I'll take care of everyone here?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll go check on the twins."

"Lorelai." He grabbed her arm. "You don't have to do it all by yourself."

"I know." She quickly placed a kiss on his lips and then walked into the nursery. Both babies were still crying, their faces bright red. She quickly picked them up and hugged them tight, walking around the nursery in circles. She didn't know how long it was before Luke joined her, taking Emilyn from her.

"Where's Lucan?"

"Asleep upstairs. He was exhausted so I put him in bed. He was gone almost immediately." He rocked Emilyn and she started to calm down as well, while Sam did the same in Lorelai's arms. It wasn't long before both babies were asleep so they put them in their cribs and then left the nursery.

Lorelai walked into the kitchen and filled the kettle with water. "You know, I would kill for a cup of coffee right now."

He smiled. "I can make you some decaf if you want?"

"I'd love that." She sat down at the table when Luke started filling the coffee maker.

"Lorelai?" Luke asked, when he put a mug with steaming coffee in front of her later.

"Yeah?"

"What happened this morning? When Lane came here with your breakfast?"

She shot him a guilty look and then looked down at her coffee cup. "I put Lucan's oatmeal in front of him and went back to the kitchen counter to make me some tea and when I turned around he was completely covered in oatmeal. I brought him to the counter, not hugging him because I didn't want to get covered in oatmeal as well and that's what upset him." She took a sip of her coffee. "God I missed this."

Luke smiled. "What happened after that?"

"After cleaning him up the best I could and started hugging him, the twins started crying. I walked into the nursery and doubted what to do. I decided to try and comfort the babies and then focus my attention back on Lucan, but that was obviously the wrong choice. He was sitting on the floor, crying and the twins were crying in my arms. I felt so helpless."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Because Lane showed up. She took care of Lucan while I changed the twin's diapers. They went back to sleep and Lucan was satisfied with eating pancakes so the situation was in control when she left. I made her promise not to tell you. I didn't want you to worry, and even more, I wanted to prove you that I could do it myself."

"You don't have to."

"I know. But it feels different."

He nodded, understanding. "What happened later?"

"I was feeding the twins while Lucan was playing on the floor. He got tired and wanted attention, which I tried giving him best I could while feeding Emilyn. He started asking for you, but I managed to distract him when the twins went back to sleep. We played with his toy cars for a while which he enjoyed, but then the twins woke up and started crying together so I picked them up. Lucan didn't like that he wasn't getting attention anymore and started crying as well. This time I decided to do it the other way around and put down the twins while trying to calm him down, figuring that I could calm down them after he was. But obviously that plan backfired as well. I called you when I started feeling helpless and the rest is history."

"I'm glad you called me."

"I'm glad you came. As much as I hate to admit it, I can't do it myself. Maybe you were right this morning and should have taken Lucan to work with you."

"I'll take him to work tomorrow. I took the rest of the day off."

"Thanks." She reached across the table and took Luke's hand in hers. "Will it ever be better?"

"Of course it will. The twins won't cry so much when they get a bit older. Remember it was exactly like this just after Lucan was born? Only, we only had one baby to take care of and not 2 at the same time plus a toddler."

She nodded. "I remember now. How is it that we just forget about it when they get older?"

He raised his shoulder. "I guess it's human just to remember the good things."

She smiled, remembering what it was like with Lucan when she was feeding him. How much she enjoyed having something only she could give him. And feeling this way exactly the same about the twins. "I guess Lucan has get to used to sharing the attention as well. He just has to learn that he gets all our attention if the twins are sleeping and that he has to share otherwise."

"He will. I promise he will."

She sighed, and then yawned.

"Are you tired?"

"Hell yeah."

"How about we go downstairs and take a nap? All our kids are asleep so why shouldn't we, right?"

"Right." She smiled and stood up. He put an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad we're in this together."

T.B.C.


	33. Epilogue

_A/N: For a long time I've thought about what to do with this story. In my heart I knew I had to end it, but I couldn't find the right way to do that. I've been writing this for so long that it's hard to let go and I know that I've been neglecting this story lately, not updating as soon as I should have. That's partially because I've been busy with work, and with other writing projects, and partially because I just didn't know how to end this, until it got to me a few days ago. I just wrote it one piece at the time and I'm satisfied with the result and I hope you guys are as well. Please don't be mad at me for ending this story now, or for my lack of updating lately. I couldn't have written this many chapters if it wasn't for you, my loyal reviewers. Every time I updated a chapter, I was looking forward to see your reviews in my mailbox, making me my smile and making my day. Right now it's time to move on to new projects and new stories because even though the show is over now, me writing fanfiction definitely isn't!_

_I want to take this oppertunity to once again thank all of you who read and reviewed this story. You all rock!  
_**  
Epilogue**

"Mommy, mommy."

Lorelai slowly opened her eyes and grunted when she saw the time on the alarm clock. Only 5.30. He was so his father's son.

"Are the fire works today mommy?" Lucan climbed on the bed and lay down on Luke's side, facing his mother.

"Not until midnight baby."

"When's midnight?"

Lorelai smiled at her almost 5 year old son. "A looooong time from now. Go back to sleep."

"But I'm not tired anymore."

"Then you'll never make it till midnight."

"How long till midnight mommy?"

Lorelai wiped the sleep out of her eyes. "It's way too early to do matt."

"What's matt?"

"Counting."

"Ah." He smiled, finally understanding what his mother was talking about. "I can count."

"I know you can honey."

"One." He put one finger in the air. "Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." He showed Lorelai all ten fingers.

"Very good. Now go back to sleep."

He shook his head. "But the fireworks mommy."

"Not until very late. It has to be dark again first."

"Midnight is in the dark?"

Lorelai nodded. "You'll find out tonight. I promise."

He bounced on the bed, filled with energy and Lorelai started to realize she wouldn't get any more sleep.

"Where's daddy?"

"Where do you think he is?"

"The diner?"

Lorelai nodded.

"Can we go?"

"For breakfast?"

Lucan nodded.

"Not until your brother and sister are awake."

"I can wake them?" He was ready to jump of the bed but Lorelai grabbed his arm.

"I don't think so. They'll wake up on their own. Let them sleep."

"But then what can we do?"

"Sleep as well?" Lorelai suggested, knowing it wasn't going to happen.

"Can I go to the diner by myself?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're 4 years old."

"Almost 5 mommy. I know how to get there."

"You're still not allowed to go alone. Why don't you go play in your room until your brother and sister wake up, on their own. Then we all shower and go have breakfast at daddy's."

"Keey." He was ready to jump off the bed again when Lorelai stopped him for the second time. "What's up?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

He smiled and placed a wet kiss on Lorelai's cheek. "Morning mommy."

"Morning Lucan." She kissed his forehead and then gave him a soft push against his shoulder. "Now go and play."

-xxxxxx-

"Mommy, mommy." Lorelai opened her eyes again and saw it was now a quarter past 6. She felt someone jumping on the bed and turned around so she could see who woke her up this time. Sam was standing on top of the bed, jumping up and down and Emilyn was standing at the end of the bed with her left thumb in her mouth and her stuffed bear under her arm. Lorelai smiled at her two youngest children and grabbed Sam's arm. "Sit down baby."

"I'm hungy mommy."

"We'll go have breakfast at daddy's later okay?"

Sam nodded. "Keey." He looked around. "Where's Lucan?"

"Playing in his room."

"Can I go?"

Lorelai nodded and quickly kissed her son before releasing him. "No fighting." But he didn't hear her as he was already gone.

Lorelai looked up and saw that Emilyn was still standing in the same spot. She was a lot less energetic after just waking up. Lorelai opened her arms. "Come here honey."

Emilyn smiled and climbed in her mother's embrace.

"Are you still tired?"

The little girl nodded as she lay her head on Lorelai's shoulder, her thumb still in her mouth and the bear close to her side. They stayed like that for almost 10 minutes and Lorelai almost drifted off to sleep again when she felt Emilyn move. She dropped the bear and wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

"Are you ready to get up?"

Emilyn nodded.

"Okay." Lorelai sat up and put Emilyn on the floor before getting out of bed herself. She slipped into her robe before she held out her hand. "Come on."

"No." Emilyn said, and put her hands in the air, indicating for Lorelai to pick her up.

Lorelai took her daughter in her arms and kissed her cheek. "I'm not sure how long we're able to still do this. You're getting heavy."

Emilyn just placed her head on Lorelai's shoulder, her thumb back in her mouth.

Lorelai walked to Lucan's room and smiled when she saw her two sons. They were playing with the wooden kitchen Luke made for them. They both had baseball caps placed backwards on their heads. Lucan was the first one to spotted Lorelai.

"Mommy do you want breakfast?"

"Absolutely." Lorelai entered the room and sat down on top of Lucan's bed, Emilyn in her lap.

"Do you want pancakes mommy?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes please." Lorelai told her son and the boys pretended to bake pancakes and put them on a plate, handing them to Lorelai.

"Here you go mommy."

"Where's my coffee?"

Sam smiled and handed Lorelai a cup. "Caffeine is gonna kill ya, mommy."

"You guys spend way too much time at your dad's." Lorelai had to smile though.

-xxxxxx-

"Hey." Luke smiled when his family entered the diner. He walked towards them, ran his hand through the hair of both boys and then picked up Emilyn and kissed her cheek before putting her down again.

"Hey." Lorelai said, and kissed him.

"Did the kids let you sleep in this morning?"

She shook her head. "Lucan woke me up at 5.30 asking about the fireworks. I send him to his room and fell asleep again until the twins woke me up at 6.15."

"You did sleep over an hour longer than I did."

"It's your fault the kids won't let me sleep in. The boys are just like you." They even looked like Luke. They had the same eyes and nose as their father. Only Lucan had straight hair and Sam's hair was slightly curled. Emilyn looked more like Lorelai. She had her mother's eyes and nose, her hair curly and dark.

Luke raised his shoulders. "I would have picked them up if you'd called me."

"I know." She smiled. "You can get out with them tomorrow morning."

"Sure." He smiled as well and looked down at his children. "Sit down everybody so I can get you breakfast."

The kids sat down at their regular table and Lorelai joined them.

"What can I get you?"

"Pancakes." Sam yelled.

"Me too." Emilyn yelled as well, a lot more awake than earlier that morning.

"And you?" Luke looked at Lucan.

"I want fireworks daddy."

"Not until midnight."

Lucan pouted. "That's what mommy said."

"Well, your mommy is right. You have to be patient. Now what do you want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes." He smiled.

"Pancakes it is." He walked away and Lorelai started pouting. Then she stood up and went behind the counter to fill a mug with coffee.

"You're not allowed to go behind the counter mommy." Lucan said.

"Yes I can."

He shook his head. "No you can't. Daddy's going to yell at you."

"No he won't."

Just then Luke came out off the kitchen. "What do you think you're doing?" He didn't yell, but he pretended to be mad.

Lorelai turned around. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're behind the counter and you know you are not allowed to be there. The insurance won't pay if something happens to you."

"Oh honey, we've been over this many times. No sack of potatoes will fall down on my head here. Besides, I think your insurance policy sucks because it won't pay for your own wife."

"We've been over this Lorelai. Every time I tell you that you're not allowed here." He crossed his arms in front of him and shot her an angry look.

"I told her she's not allowed to go behind the counter daddy." Lucan told his father proudly. "She wouldn't listen to me."

"She never listens."

"Are you going to punish her now?"

"I should, shouldn't I?" Luke looked at his kids who were all smiling. "How about… no coffee for one week?"

Lucan nodded. "Yeah. That's just like I'm not allowed to watch TV after dinner if I did something bad."

"Yeah. Exactly." Luke held out his hand. "Hand me the cup Lorelai."

Her mouth fell open. "You've got to be kidding me."

He shook his head. "Nope."

She shook her head, quickly sipped down her coffee and then handed Luke the cup. "Fine." She wasn't going to fight in front of the kids.

After breakfast the kids went to play upstairs in the apartment and Lorelai sat down on her favorite stool at the counter. Luke was standing in front of her, wiping the counter with a rag.

"How about some coffee?" She asked, blinking her eyelashes at him.

He shook his head. "No coffee for one week remember?"

"You can't be serious about that."

"How are the kids going to learn not to do something bad if you keep giving them the wrong example?"

"They know that they're not allowed behind the counter. But I'm an adult."

"Doesn't matter."

"I don't understand why you just won't put me on the insurance forms so that I'm covered when I'm behind the counter. You don't mind if I help you out when it's busy and you're shorthanded."

"That's different. When you're working you won't be drinking all my coffee."

"Oh you can just make a new pot."

"That's not my point."

"Well, I'll go home or to the inn if you won't give me any coffee. But let me remind you that it's our anniversary tonight, and it won't be any fun for you if you're putting up this act."

"Fine." He filled a mug with coffee and put it in front of her. "Just don't tell the kids because I'll never hear the end of it."

"I won't." She took a sip of her coffee.

"What are the plans for tonight?"

"My parents and Rory and Warren are meeting us at the inn around 8 tonight."

"Okay. I'm working until 7 so that gives me enough time to go home and change."

"Sounds good." She smiled and took another sip of her coffee. "You will look after the kids today right?"

"I promised you I would."

"Good. 'Cause I have tons of stuff to do at the inn to get everything ready for tonight. Can't leave everything to Michel. And Sookie is totally freaking out about the food she wants to serve. I think it's safe to say she hasn't slept in 2 days to make sure it's going to be perfect."

"It's only new year's." He raised his shoulders, not understanding where all the commotion was about.

"And our 5th wedding anniversary."

"Right. And that." He smiled. "Can't believe it's been 5 years."

"Me either. So much has changed within time. I was 7 months pregnant with Lucan and you made sure Rory came home from London so we could spend Christmas together, and to celebrate the engagement. Did I ever tell you how happy I am that we didn't wait a few months before we got married, but got married right away?"

He nodded. "A few times."

"Good."

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai walked into the inn with the kids a little after 7. She and Luke agreed that she'd take the kids to the party while he took a shower and changed.

"Mommy, how much longer?" Lucan asked, very impatient.

"A long time honey. It's not even 8 o clock yet."

"Is midnight at 8 o clock?" He looked outside and saw it was dark. His mother told him this morning that midnight was in the dark.

"No honey. But your grandparents and Rory and Warren will be here at 8."

"Then when's midnight?"

"At 12 o clock."

"Oh…." He looked disappointed. "That's a long time from now isn't it?"

Lorelai nodded and ran her hand through her son's hair to comfort him. "Why don't you go play with your brother and sister?"

"Where are they?"

"I think they ran off toward the kitchen to see where Davy and Martha are."

"Cool." A smile appeared on his face and he ran away in search for his siblings and friends.

Lorelai shook her head with a smile plastered on her face as she watched her son ran away. Then she walked towards the party area to see if everything was okay.

The room was filled with people already and the snow theme Lorelai had chosen for the decorations looked beautiful with the party lights and the moonlight coming in from outside. Pleased with what she was seeing she walked into the direction of the kitchen to see what the kids were up to.

Sookie looked up when her friend entered. "Hey."

"Hey." Lorelai smiled. "Where are the kids?"

"Went to play in the lobby."

"You told them to behave?"

"Of course. And I gave them some cookies and potato chips so they should be fine for a while."

"Sookie." Lorelai sighed and her friend looked at her curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"You know they're not allowed to bring candy into the lobby. They always run around and make a mess."

Sookie raised her shoulders. "The place has to be cleaned tomorrow anyway."

"I know. But they think if they're allowed once, they can do it all the time."

"I'm sure they won't."

"Your kids are a bit older, but my 3 year olds don't understand mixed signals yet."

Sookie sighed, knowing Lorelai was right. "I'm sorry. I'll tell them to sit down when they eat it."

Lorelai shook her head. "I'll do it later. How are things going?"

"Good." Sookie smiled immediately. "I found the perfect cake recipe. Here taste." She handed Lorelai a small piece of cake.

"Mmm…" Lorelai said, as she tasted the cake. "Tastes great. You've outdid yourself again."

"I know. Wait until you taste the fresh bread and the ten different salads I made. Oh, and I made potato chips myself. Some kind of paprika flavor with a hint of bacon and I perfectly fried chicken and there's ham and…."

Lorelai put her hand in the air, knowing her friend wouldn't stop talking if not stopped. "I get it. You really really outdid yourself this year. I'll check out the buffet later and promise to try everything. I'll better check on the kids now."

"Okay. Can you ask Martha to come see me in here? I want to show her how to decorate a new year's cake."

"Sure." Lorelai walked in the direction of the lobby and found the kids all together. They were playing with the toys Davy and Martha brought and their hands were all greasy from the chips. "How's it going?" She asked, announcing her presence.

"Good mommy." Lucan looked up. "Is it…"

"No." Lorelai interrupted her son. "It's not midnight already and smiled when she saw disappointment on his face once again.

"Mommy look." Emilyn showed Lorelai one of Martha's dolls. "Her name is Rosie."

"She's beautiful." Lorelai smiled at her daughter. "Martha, your mother asked if she could see you in the kitchen."

The girl nodded and ran off in the direction of the kitchen.

"Mommy, is Wawen coming?" Sam pulled on his mother's pants. He really looked up to his big brother in law, almost as if he was his big hero.

"Warren will be here soon honey."

"Cool." Sam said, something he picked up from Lucan.

"And Rory?" Emilyn asked, who really liked her big sister.

"Yes, and Rory and Grandma and Grandpa."

"And Daddy?" Sam asked, wanting to know if his other hero was coming as well.

"I'm already here." Luke said and Sam turned around to face his father.

"Daddy." He put his arms in the air and Luke picked up his son.

"Hey buddy." He placed a kiss on Sam's forehead. "How's it going?"

"Good daddy. Sookie gave us chips and Davy bought weally cool cars."

"Brought."

"Yeah bought."

Luke smiled while shaking his head and put his son down. "Go play."

"Okay."

"Daddy and I are going to check out the party okay?" Lorelai told her children. "No walking around with the chips and the cookies. We don't want a mess around here."

"Okay mommy." All three kids said before they went back to playing.

Lorelai turned to face her husband who was wearing a dark suit and a light blue shirt, no tie. "You look handsome."

"You look quite beautiful yourself." He smiled as he checked out her black dress.

"Only quite?" She asked with a pout and he just kissed her.

Before they reached the party area she heard a 'mom' behind her so they turned around and Lorelai looked in the eyes of her eldest daughter. She was holding Warren's hand with her left as her right hand was resting on her very pregnant belly.

"Rory." Lorelai smiled and walked into the direction of her daughter, pulling Luke with her. "You look beautiful. Hello Warren," she greeted her son in law who greeted her back

"Thanks." Rory smiled and kissed her mother's cheek. "How are you?"

"A bit tired after being woken up around 6 by your siblings and working all day, but other than that great. How are you?" She pulled her daughter aside and left Luke talking with Warren. "And how's my granddaughter?"

"Shh." Rory said. "Not to loud."

"Nobody will hear us."

"Good, because Warren will kill you if he finds out. He wants it to be a surprise."

"It's only a few more weeks anyway."

"Yeah. And then I'm finally able to hold my daughter." Rory whispered.

Lorelai smiled proudly. "Have you convinced Warren to name her Lorelai already?"

"I did. Her name will be Lorelai Nicola. With Lanie as her nickname. But you really can't tell anyone. Not even Luke."

"Luke doesn't want to know the sex of the baby anyway so I promise I'll keep it to myself."

"Good."

"Why Nichola?" Lorelai wondered.

"That was the name of Warren's mother."

"That's nice."

Rory nodded. "It is. From all the things I heard she was an amazing women. It's sad I never had the chance to meet her."

Lorelai nodded, understanding. "Come on, let's party."

"Let's do that." Rory smiled.

Lorelai put her arm around her daughter and directed her back to their husbands. Rory and Warren got married the October after the twins were born. It was a nice wedding at a little church in New Haven and afterwards a big party for all friends of Rory and Warren, Rory's family and the townies of Stars Hallow. Because Warren had school they didn't go on their honeymoon until he had spring break, almost have a year later, but the trip to Fez was worth the wait.

"Gandma." They suddenly heard Emilyn yell so they all turned around and saw Richard and Emily entering the inn.

"Emilyn." Emily smiled at her granddaughter.

"Look." Emilyn showed her Martha's doll, where she was still playing with.

"Is she yours?"

The little girl shook her head. "But she's pwetty right?"

"Absolutely." Emily smiled and looked up when her other grandchildren ran up to her.

"Grandma. There will be fireworks at midnight." It was the first thing Lucan said.

"He's been talking about it all day." Lorelai told her mother. "Hi mom."

"Hey." She ran her hand through Lucan's hair and looked at Sam.

"Hello Gandma."

"Hello Sam. How are you today?"

"Good." He nodded. "I wanna see firewoks too."

"Oh you do huh."

He nodded, very sure. Then he spotted Warren. "Wawen." He ran towards his big friend and jumped in his arms.

"Hey buddy."

"Rory baby." Emilyn pointed at her big sisters stomach.

"Yes. There's a baby in there." Rory said proudly and smiled at her little sister. They saw each other about once a month. After Warren graduated from Yale he found a job at a small architecture agency in New York City. Rory started looking for a job in the New York region and was finally offered a job at the New York Times which she gladly accepted. They found a 3 bedroom apartment on 79th street where they still live.

After they all said hello to each other they went into the party area just as the band started playing Eternal Flame.

"You have to dance with me." Lorelai told Luke. "This is my favorite song."

He sighed but took her hand, guiding her to the dance floor. Soon Richard and Emily and Rory and Warren followed, all women enjoying the music and being in their husbands arms.

"God I love this song." Lorelai whispered and Luke kissed her lightly. Lorelai looked around and saw her mother in her father's arms and smiled.

Richard finally retired two years ago, this time being okay with spending most of his time at home with his wife. They looked after Lorelai's kids 2 times a week and spend the other days at the county club or just together at home. Richard started reading more and let Emily have her own hobbies. When her friends came over he withdraw in his office, sometimes reading, sometimes serving the internet and at some point he took after his granddaughter and took interesting in writing.

Emily was still in the DAR although not as intense as before she got sick and realized who her real friends were. She had annual check-ups at the hospital and so far everything was perfectly fine.

Lorelai slowly moved to the rhythm of the music and put her head on Luke's shoulder, looking at the kids who were watching them. "Look." She whispered, when Emilyn grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him on the dance floor.

"She's just like you." Luke whispered with a smile.

"I know." Sam took Emilyn's hands in his and together they moved on the rhythm of the music. Lucan was still watching them. "Maybe he wants to dance too."

"I'll have him dance with you."

"Not until this song is over." She held onto Luke tight.

When the song was over they walked towards Lucan. "Do you want to dance honey?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Ewww no."

Lorelai smiled up at Luke. "And you said something about Emilyn being my daughter? He's so your son."

Luke just raised his shoulders and smiled. "I'll go get something to drink."

She nodded as she kneeled next to Lucan, watching her other kids dance.

-xxxxxx-

Ten minutes before midnight Luke and Lorelai walked towards her office to wake up the kids. A little before 9 the twins had fallen asleep in their laps and they placed them in the office so they could sleep without getting disturbed. Lucan tried to stay up, but midnight took way too long for him and half an hour after twins did, he fell asleep as well, but not before Luke promised him that they'd wake him up for the fireworks.

"Do we wake up the twins as well?" Lorelai asked and Luke raised his shoulders.

"What do you think?"

"Maybe it's a good idea. If the fireworks wake them up they're going to be afraid if they're here all alone. And we won't hear them if we're outside."

He nodded. "Then we'll wake them up as well.

It wasn't hard to wake up Lucan. He was filled with energy when he realized it was close to midnight so he could finally see the fireworks. The twins was a different thing. Emilyn was as cranky as she was when she woke up early in the morning, and Sam wasn't too happy about being awoken either.

They went to the party in search for the rest of the family and Richard was waiting with champagne for the adults and apple juice for the kids and Rory, also in champagne glasses.

When it was close to midnight the band stopped playing and they projected a TV channel that showed time square on the wall with a beamer. Soon everybody started counting backwards out loud and Lucan tried to do the same. "5-4-3-2-1- Happy new year."

After they toasted Luke and Lorelai kissed each other first before kissing their kids. After that there were kisses and handshakes for the others until Lucan couldn't take it anymore. "Can we go outside now?"

Lorelai nodded. "Come on."

They went into the lobby and got their coats.

"Make sure you stay with us. No running around okay?"

"Okay." Luke carried Sam and Lorelai carried Emilyn, taking Lucan's hand in hers.

They went outside where fireworks already filled the sky.

"Wow." Lucan pointed to the sky and was amazed by all the colors that filled the darkness. "Cool."

Emilyn buried her face in her mother's shoulder, a bit afraid for the loud sounds that came with the fireworks. Sam was more like his brother even though the loud noises scared him a little as well.

After a few minutes the twins squirmed out of their parent's arms but they wouldn't let go until they promised to stay right where they were.

With her arms empty Lorelai walked towards Luke and put her arms around his neck, giving him a passionate kiss. "Happy anniversary."

"Happy anniversary." He pecked her lips as he looked her in the eyes, moving a strand of hair out of her face.

They remained like that for a little while, just looking at each other enjoying the moment, kissing each other once in a while. He didn't let go of Lorelai until he felt someone pulling on his pants.

He looked down and saw Lucan who was pointing at the sky. "Look daddy. The fireworks."

Luke smiled and put an arm around Lorelai's shoulder, pulling her close to him. "I'm looking buddy."

Lucan nodded and went to stand next to his brother and sister as he looked at the fireworks again.

Lorelai glanced at her husband who smiled at her. Then she looked around and saw her parents standing on one side of them, her father's arms safe around her mother and Rory and Warren on the other side, Warren's arm around Rory's shoulder and one hand resting on her pregnant stomach. Then she looked at her younger kids who were standing in front of her, holding each other's hands as they gazed up at the sky and she couldn't help but think back to a moment years ago when she thought she would never get it.

She placed her head on Luke's shoulder and he kissed her forehead. "Do you remember when I came into your diner a long time ago as Mimi, after we fought that whole summer?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll never forget."

"You remember telling me that I would get it, when I thought I would never get the whole package? That person? The couple life"

He nodded. "Yeah. I knew you'd get it."

"You were right. I did get it."

He nodded. "I know." He moved so that she was standing in front of him and kissed her once again. When he pulled away a few seconds later he whispered. "I'm glad you got it with me."

THE END!!!!


End file.
